Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001368/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Alex Agius Saliba (S&D)
This question follows an exchange with the former EU Commissioner for Consumer Rights, Didier Reynders, in April 2023 during a meeting of Parliament’s Internal Market Committee. The issue is the use of diesel particulate filters (DPFs) by consumers and businesses in small Member States.
DPFs do not have the same benefits when used in countries where only short distances are covered, such as Malta, because they do not have the technology to be clean themselves automatically, as they do when vehicles are used over longer distances. This reduces the engine’s efficiency significantly and results in additional costs for the owners of these vehicles, who have to periodically replace these expensive filters.
- 1.Given that the overwhelming majority of these filters cannot even be cleaned, thus obliging consumers to buy new ones, are there possibilities in EU law to make it mandatory for it to be possible to open filters in diesel engine cars for regular cleaning?
- 2.When setting diesel vehicle norms, such as the Euro standards, does the Commission take into consideration that there are Member States in which consumers do not drive long distances?
- 3.More specifically, could the cleaning of DPFs be enforced as part of the circular economy initiatives, such as the Directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods?
Submitted: 2.4.2025