BRUSSELS — The European Union’s high courtroom dismissed a criticism on Thursday introduced by the cities of Brussels, Madrid and Paris towards the European Fee by which they accused it of setting automobile emissions limits for nitrogen oxides too excessive.

The Court docket of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) thereby overruled an earlier judgement in favor of the cities from the Basic Court docket, the EU’s second-highest chamber, which prompted an enchantment by Germany, Hungary and the Fee.

The case revolves across the Fee’s introduction, after the 2015 Volkswagen Group diesel scandal, of actual driving emissions testing to enrich laboratory procedures and its setting of emissions limits on nitrogen oxides for gentle passenger and industrial automobiles.

The cities complained that the bounds had been greater these of the “Euro 6” customary that applies to gentle automobiles registered since 2015. As such, they argued, it undermined their skills to control the circulation of automobiles to cut back air air pollution.

The Basic Court docket backed their view, as did the advocate-general in his recommendation to the CJEU judges. Nonetheless, they overturned the Basic Court docket’s ruling.

The CJEU discovered that the Fee’s directive involved solely registration and sale of automobiles and never their circulation on roads, so the cities weren’t straight involved by the laws.

Nonetheless, the upper courtroom stated the cities might nonetheless restrict circulation of automobiles to guard the setting with out infringing EU legislation.