He was on leave because of the controversial emissions test with monkeys. Now the VW chief lobbyist Thomas Steg resumes his work.
VW lobbyist Thomas Steg
Wednesday, 06.06.2018
15:59 clock
With immediate effect, the VolkswagenGroup back its after disputed exhaust emissions tests with monkeys chief lobbyist Thomas Steg back. Steg resumes his role as head of corporate foreign relations, said VW. Der Spiegel had two weeks ago reported on corresponding plans,
Steg was at the end of January after the announcement of laboratory tests with diesel exhaust on monkeys of Volkswagen been given leave as Plenipotentiary, The Management Board had accepted the corresponding offer from the Head of Group External Relations and Sustainability.
The special audit of the Corporate Audit has now come to the conclusion, “that Thomas Steg are not accused of personal legal misconduct,” said Legal Board Hiltrud Werner. However, Steg has apologized both internally and in public for his non-intervention in the matter.
No unlawful behavior
In addition, no breach of duty or breaches of labor law by employees were found in studies commissioned by the EUGT lobbying organization.
Steg explained that he had neither been responsible for planning nor for commissioning and approving the study. “The study was superfluous and had no scientific benefit, it should not have taken place,” he said. He claims to have neglected moral-ethical aspects.
EUGT – the European Research Association for Environment and Health in the Transport Sector – wanted to demonstrate in 2014 that experiments on monkeys make it much less dangerous for diesel exhaust emissions than for the World Health Organization WHO detected. The lobby association also sponsored an experiment in which several subjects in Germany exposed themselves to the irritant gas nitric oxide at an institute of the university hospital RWTH Aachen. The EUGT was dissolved in 2017.
Personnel consequences also at Daimler and BMW
Daimler and BMW have also drawn personal consequences. The Stuttgart released a colleague who represented the carmaker in the board of the research institute responsible for the experiments EUGT. A Daimler spokesman said the employee has since left the company.
BMW had put a representative on the EUGT board in the office. Meanwhile, the internal investigations are also completed here. The employee can not be accused of unlawful behavior, he has now completely taken over his duties again, said BMW.