July 11 marked one year since the day the findings of the Investigative Committee on the deadly Takata airbags —which “pointed to” serious political, criminal, and disciplinary liabilities—were submitted to Attorney General George Savvidis.

Speaking from the studio of the Alpha Enimerosi program, Transportation Minister Alexis Vafeadis discussed what the Department of Road Transport has done since then.

“The issue with the system has been resolved. With the software alone, its functionality will be improved. Information is available at all levels regarding the vehicles we have and how they are categorized, which ones have restrictions… that information is available. The TOM has taken numerous actions since then. Because while we may have had a report that addressed the Takata issue, we also have the issue of recalls. The issue of recalls is much broader. It concerns the entire fleet in Cyprus and the gaps that were identified at the time. This matter has been addressed.”

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In fact, according to Alexis Vafeadis, on Monday the relevant ministry will launch a public consultation on two bills. One concerns the implementing provisions for Regulation 2018-58 and, essentially, according to the Minister, will define responsibilities and clarify where they lie. The second bill concerns the regulation of the profession of automobile importers, something that did not exist until now.

“For these two, a great deal of consultation with the Legal Service was required. They’ve reached a conclusion, and the bills will be introduced on Monday. Vehicle importers say, ‘It’s not us; it’s the others.’ This is where TOM steps in and says that “we believe the manufacturer is responsible,” and from the manufacturer, the responsibility shifts accordingly to the affected market, through the dealers or representatives. Consequently, liability for recalls must be linked to information about the recalls. And here, the TOM steps in and defines this issue. However, the bills will be released for public consultation. As you can imagine, there will be various opinions. The matter will ultimately go before the House of Representatives… I hope by September so that it can be passed into law.”

The TOM states that since the manufacturer bears the responsibility, it must also bear the cost of the replacement.

READ ALSO: Takata findings a “stinging blow”: They face serious criminal, civil, and disciplinary liabilities

“That’s why there needs to be this chain of responsibility and communication. Let’s see how this will play out for the profession of the importer. Not just anyone can import a car. Anyone who imports a car must be registered with a council and follow certain regulations. This way, there will be a record of who they are, when they imported it, and what they imported. What guarantees do they have for the product they imported? Recalls are continuing. Right now, we’re implementing a program for recalls of “gray market” vehicles. In other words, just as we did for Takata, we’re doing the same for all other recalls. What we can say is that most of the manufacturers’ distributors also handle gray-market vehicles. Each one handles it according to the agreement they have made with their manufacturer.”