Car makers should be punished for polluting, says Barroso

European commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has suggested that car manufacturers who in the future make cars that breach EU pollution thresholds should be punished.

In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, Mr Barroso said that the EU's planned system of requiring new cars from 2012 to reduce emissions to an average of 120 grammes of carbon dixoide per kilometre would not be very credible if there was no system to enforce it.

"[Car manufacturers] should pay a sort of compen...