OCU demands compensation for consumers affected by the Volkswagen scandal

Thursday, OCU participated in the meeting convened by Vera Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, for the purposes of discussing the situation related to the emissions scandal perpetrated by the Volkswagen Group with the EU consumer organisations. 

Before this meeting, OCU had already sent information related to the actions being carried out in Spain, the obstacles consumers are facing in demanding Volkswagen to take responsibility for their actions and the current situation of the various initiatives attempting to achieve compensation for Spanish consumers from the German manufacturer to the European Commission.

During the meeting with Commissioner Jourová, the various consumer organisations shared information regarding the initiatives being carried out in each country, principally  highlighting the specific legal actions filed in Spain as well as in other countries such as Italy or Belgium. OCU itself insisted on the need for the public administrations to make the maximum effort in order to receive economic compensation from Volkswagen for consumers affected by this scandal. The European Commission agrees with this petition as shown in previous statements made by leading figures such as Elzbieta Bienkowska, the Internal Market and Industry Commissioner. 

For OCU, the European Commission's initiative to meet with the consumers implies a positive step forward which contrasts with the other administrations' lack of willingness to achieve compensation for Spanish consumers. For this reason, it is OCU's hope that the community authorities are able to pressure the national administrations into forcing Volkswagen to provide a satisfactory solution for the consumers' interests. It has been precisely this lack of cooperation by Volkswagen and the lack of interest from the Spanish authorities which have forced OCU to file a class action lawsuit with the Spanish courts with the hopes that these institutions are the ones which finally respond positively to the nearly 5,000 individuals represented in the lawsuit. 

For more information, please contact Eva Jiménez(media). Telephone: 917226061 prensa@ocu.org

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