A Volkswagen car model 'VW Tiguan' next to handcuffs. The photo was taken on 15 October 2015. Sascha Steinach/Press Association. All rights reserved.Dieselgate held up a mirror to the notion of an EU Single Market where the rights of consumers are respected and enforceable, humiliating European consumers and regulators alike on their own continent.
Whilst US VW owners successfully extract billions in compensation with class-actions (and VW management is also put behind bars), in the EU, where the majority of VW consumers actually are, the struggle to obtain even meagre redress for consumers continues (with VW management avoiding jail time as well).
It’s just one example of an EU mass harm situation where victims have been left without effective remedy. When we consider other areas of harm such as environmental (e.g. toxic chemical spills, man-made earthquakes) or discrimination (e.g. firing or mistreatment on grounds of race, religion or gender), the number of people without the means to compel effective remedy from abusive EU-based companies continues to grow.
