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Cooling row heats up

September 25, 2014

The European Commission has threatened to take Germany to court if it does not stop allowing car makers to use a disputed cooling agent. The executive has accused Germany of violating EU law.

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Bildergalerie Nachhaltige Städte Europäische Kommission
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The European Commission gave Germany a two-month deadline on Thursday to enforce a ban on a controversial car refrigerant or face legal action, escalating a dispute about a product that has been deemed flammable and unfit for use in vehicles.

"Germany has infringed EU law in so far as it allowed a German manufacturer to put on the EU market … vehicles that were not in conformity with the EU directive," the EU executive wrote in a statement.

In question is a coolant known as R134a, which Berlin has permitted automaker Daimler to keep using until a better alternative presents itself.The EU commission has proposed another product - R1234yf - that it insists will not ignite. Daimler, for its part, has cited tests that left "many questions" about the new coolant's safety.

So far, the German Transport Ministry has sided with the car company and allowed it to circumvent the European ban on R134a. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Thursday refused to give in to the Commission's demand, saying the German automobile industry would nevertheless meet EU rules on new environmental standards for air-conditioning systems in cars.

The imposition of a deadline puts Germany one step closer to a legal battle at the EU's top court, where it would face charges of violating EU law.

cjc/uhe (dpa, AFP)