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Belgian system Car-Pass should be introduced across the EU in order to crack down on odometer fraud in secondhand cars, which poses a massive problem, especially in Eastern Europe, writes Tom Zdechovsk.

Tom Zdechovsk is a Czech Member of the European Parliament (EPP / KDU-SL).

Every year, millions of European customers are affected by so-called mileage fraud. What do we actually mean by that? The odometer fraud is an artificial lowering of the mileage of a car. It is technically simple, cheap to do, and aims to inflate a vehicles value by several thousand euros. Odometer frauds in second hand cars poses a massive problem, which affects a considerable number of used cars in Europe the estimates go as high as 30%, costing European consumers approximately between 5.6 to 9.6 billion per year.

Not being able to guarantee the cars mileage makes it impossible to assess the true value of second-hand cars, leading to a high level of consumer mistrust. In fact, unsuspecting consumers are not only cheated, but they also face higher repair and maintenance costs and drive cars that are more likely to be unsafe.

For instance, my home country the Czech Republic poses a deterrent example of how big of an issue mileage fraud is. If you are in the Czech Republic and buy a second hand car, it is very likely, that you became a victim of an odometer fraud. Because of the internal free trade within the European Union, central and eastern European countries serve as a dumping ground for many cars imported from the west.

As of 2014, 37% out of 220,000 second hand cars sold in the Czech Republic had an odometer that was artificially manipulated, one fifth had experienced a car crash or had an insured event that were not recorded and 17,8 % out of them were actually older than officially stated in their documents. In other words, many customers are misled and deceived without knowing it. Meanwhile, car dealers suffer unfair competition and the entire second hand car business is left with bad reputation. Indeed, the sector generally performs poorly in the European Commissions Consumer Scoreboard, with second-hand cars consistently ranking as the least trusted product for European consumers.

Unfortunately, the customers do not have many possibilities to check whether the mileage of the vehicles is honest or not. Mileage fraud thereby severely distorts the second-hand car market, tarnishes the reputation of car dealers, may negatively impact the environment and road safety and also leads to tax fraud. Taking steps to reduce mileage fraud would add transparency to the market and could stimulate the used car business and create a sound climate for investments.

The crucial question is: how can we mitigate this type of fraud and is it possible at all? The answer is surprisingly simple and we can find it here, in Belgium. The Belgian Car-Pass system has been extremely successful in clamping down on car clocking. After all, the following figures are more than eloquent. Since the system became operational in 2006, it has dramatically lowered the number of fraud cases from 60,000 in 2005 to a mere 1,197 in 2015. Moreover, since 2006 mileage fraud is punishable by one year in jail.

Inspiration from Belgium

The Belgian system works by removing the incentive for clocking the mileage, as any significant changes will be detected. This is achieved through a central database into which mileage readings are fed regularly, when a car goes in for repairs, maintenance or checks. The room for odometer manipulation is drastically reduced, as suspicious readings show up in the cars mileage history. The system is provided by the non-profit organisation Car-Pass. Since 2006, 6.8 million certificates have been issued and 21 million cars have been recorded since then. There are other countries that have an efficient way to counter the odometer fraud, such as for instance the Netherlands.

Crime does not know borders and thus national systems cannot provide guarantees for imported or exported cars. Therefore, there is a real need for transnational approach to the problem. Nevertheless, we are yet to see active efforts of the Commission to bring the issue on the European level.

I hope that we will have the opportunity to hear the success stories of the fight against the odometer fraud in other European countries soon. Because no permanent solution is possible without joint efforts of all EU member states.

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Odometer fraud resonates across the whole European Union ... - EURACTIV

Forbes

Pesticide Regulation In The European Union: The Worst Has Become The Norm Forbes Every time I think the European Union's regulatory bureaucrats have bottomed out on substance and integrity, they find a way to sink even lower. In February, I wrote about how the European Union has rigged the evaluation of whether state-of-the-art ...

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Pesticide Regulation In The European Union: The Worst Has Become The Norm - Forbes

BRUSSELS: The European Union will hold high-level talks with the United States in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss a possible US airline ban on carry-on computers.

The US Department of Homeland Security sparked deep concern in Europe last week when it said it would soon decide on extending to European airlines a ban on eight mostly Muslim countries.

"The commission will host high-level talks at the political and technical level with the US authorities this Wednesday afternoon in order to jointly assess any new threats and work toward a common approach to address them," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said at a press conference Monday.

Schinas said Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc took part in a conference call Friday with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to discuss the possible laptop ban.

But he could not say whether Kelly would attend the talks Wednesday.

A US ban on now ubiquitous laptops could cause havoc, with more than 3,250 flights a week scheduled to leave EU airports for the US this summer, according to industry data.

Some experts also say there is a security risk in putting them with checked luggage given the danger of their batteries catching fire.

In March, Washington banned passengers from eight countries in North Africa and the Middle East from bringing laptop computers, tablets and other electronic devices larger than cellphones as carry-on items.

Britain followed with a similar ban applying to incoming flights from six Middle East and North African countries.

The move, which requires passengers to put the devices into checked baggage, came amid concerns that jihadist groups were devising bombs disguised as batteries in consumer electronics items.

A bomb that blew a hole in the fuselage of a Somali airliner in February 2016, killing one person, is believed to have been built into a laptop computer carried into the passenger cabin.

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European Union, United States to discuss possible airline laptop ban on Wednesday - Economic Times

GETTY

The consequences of Britain's withdrawal from the union would not just be a loss for the UK's scientific community but the continent as a whole, Irelands chief science adviser Mark Ferguson said.

Mr Ferguson was one of several experts discussing the impact of Brexit on European research, during a panel discussion at the Royal Institution in London this week.

Rolf Tarrach, president of the European University Association, said European researchers still wanted to work with colleagues in the UK, Times Higher Education reported.

But he added: "If you are so interested in working with all the other [countries], you are saying that you are less interested in working with your European colleagues. That is something that we feel.

He said the push to broker deals and partnerships with other nations in different continents could a danger to UK-EU relations.

There are also concerns that the European research budget would dwindle if Britain was to withdraw from all the EU's scientific programmes, taking its funding with it.

GETTY

And there is confusion over whether will make any professional or financial contribution to FP9, the European Commission's ninth research funding programme which begins in 2021.

While Theresa May's Conservative government has indicated a clean break from all EU activities, Ole Petersen, vice-president of Academia Europaea, said: "The values espoused by the UK Government are not the values of the academic community."

Scientists in Europe still retain hope that Britain will come to a Swiss-style agreement with the EU over sharing resources and participating in research despite not being a full member of the bloc.

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European Union science will SUFFER after Brexit, boffins claim - Express.co.uk

The European Union could end up paying a Brexit bill to Britain instead of the other way round, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told The Daily Telegraph in an interview on Saturday.

Juncker thinks its the Hotel California where you can check out but you can never leave. He is wrong

Boris Johnson

Asked if he believed that Britain might end up receiving a payment, Johnson replied: I do, I think there are very good arguments.

There are assets that we share, that we have paid for over the years and there will need to be a proper computation of the value of those assets, said Johnson, one of the leading lights in last years Brexit referendum campaign.

Johnson dismissed as absurd the various estimates for the exit fee that would have to be paid by Britain, which some reports have said could be as high as 100 billion (US$109 billion).

They are going to try to bleed this country white with their bill, he said, threatening that Britain could definitely walk away from the negotiations without paying anything.

The payments that London must make to settle financial commitments made when it was a member are considered one of the most difficult Brexit issues and are a top priority for the talks.

A report in the Telegraph earlier this week said British officials estimated that Britain was entitled to 9 billion (US$11.6 billion) in funds held by the European Investment Bank and 14 billion of other EU assets including property and cash.

Johnson also criticised the shameful leaking of details of a meeting in Downing Street last month between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Brussels is ruthless in its negotiating techniques. They are going to play dirty. We have got to be very wary and intellectually very firm, the former London mayor said.

Quoting a famous Eagles song, he added: Jean-Claude Juncker thinks its the Hotel California where you can check out but you can never leave. He is wrong.

Tensions between Brussels and London have risen in the run-up to Britains general election on June 8, with the government accusing EU officials of meddling in the election campaign.

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'European Union may end up paying Britain's Brexit bill,' says foreign minister Boris Johnson - South China Morning Post