Of course they are. If I remember rightly, the EU's NO2 emission standards for vehicles were substantially laxer than the US in order to protect the German car

Of course they are. If I remember rightly, the EU's NO2 emission standards for vehicles were substantially laxer than the US in order to protect the German car industry and its investment in diesel engines. This resulted in most major cities having NO2 levels in excess of that allowed by EU law, with those countries not really having any good way to come into compliance since they couldn't set their own vehicle emission standards. In the end I think a bunch of cities ended up having to ban older vehicles, screwing over anyone who couldn't afford to buy a new car and generating even more sales for the German car industry.