By Viktoria Dendrinou

BRUSSELS--The European Commission started legal action Thursday against seven countries, including the U.K. and Germany, for failing to catch--or punish--car manufacturers cheating in emissions tests.

The commission, the European Union's executive arm, took action against the U.K., Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Greece, Lithuania and Luxembourg, for failing to establish penalties systems to deter car manufacturers from violating emissions legislation, or for not applying sanctions when the law was breached.

The move, which was widely anticipated, came after the commission said manufacturers were understating their cars' emissions.

"Abiding by the law is first and foremost the duty of car manufacturers. But national authorities across the EU must ensure that car manufacturers actually comply with the law," said Elzbieta Bienkowska, the EU's internal market and industry commissioner.

Volkswagen AG admitted in 2015 that it rigged diesel engines on 11 million cars to cheat on checks for harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.

Subsequent investigations in Germany and other EU countries showed that several manufacturers were using loopholes in an EU ban on so-called defeat devices to understate their vehicles' emissions.

The commission said the Czech Republic, Greece and Lithuania had failed to introduce sanctions for emissions violation into their national law. It said Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and the U.K.--countries that issued type approvals for Volkswagen--hadn't applied penalties against the car maker, "despite the company's use of illegal defeat device software."

The commission also said that Germany and the U.K. broke the law by refusing to disclose information on potential emissions irregularities in Volkswagen and other cars.

Thursday's action is the first step of the commission's procedure for national infringements. Governments have two months to respond, after which Brussels can decide to refer them to the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice, in a process that can eventually lead to sanctions.

-Write to Viktoria Dendrinou at viktoria.dendrinou@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 08, 2016 07:18 ET (12:18 GMT)