Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Added2. The platform shall include relevant Members States authorities, and relevant stakeholders of the road transport sector, and where possible facilitate building on these best practices. [Am. 320]

AddedArticle 13 Effects of a restriction, suspension, withdrawal or cancellation of the right to drive or driving licence

Added1. A Member State shall refuse to issue a driving licence to an applicant whose driving licence is restricted, suspended, withdrawn or cancelled in another Member State.

Added2. A Member State shall refuse to recognise the validity of any driving licence issued by another Member State to a person whose driving licence or right to drive is restricted, suspended, withdrawn or cancelled in the former Member State’s territory.

Added3. A driving licence or the right to drive shall be considered as restricted, suspended, withdrawn, or cancelled for the purposes of this Article as long as the person concerned is yet to fulfil any conditions, imposed by a Member State, with which he or she must comply with in order to be able to recover his or her right to drive or driving licence or to be able to apply for a new one.

AddedMember States shall ensure that any conditions they impose in order for the holder to be able to recover his or her right to drive or driving licence or to be able to apply for a new one are proportionate, non-discriminatory to holders of driving licences issued by any other Member State and that they do not, by themselves, lead to an indefinite refusal to issue a driving licence or to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State.

AddedA Member State shall suspend a driving licence if the medical examination confirming validity referred to in Article 10 shows that the physical and psychological requirements regarding the medical conditions referred to in Annex III temporarily cannot be met. [Am. 110]

Added4. Nothing in this Article shall be understood as preventing Member States from banning a person from driving in their territories indefinitely without providing him or her the possibility to recover his or her right to drive or driving licence or to be able to apply for a new one, where this is justified on the basis of his or her conduct.

AddedWhere a Member State, in accordance with this paragraph, has imposed an indefinite ban on driving, such Member State may refuse to recognise the validity of any driving licence, issued by another Member State, in its respective territory indefinitely. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 other Member States may, after consulting with the Member State imposing the indefinite driving ban, issue a driving licence to such a person.

AddedArticle 14 Accompanied driving scheme

Added1. By way of derogation from Article 7(1), points (b) and (d) respectively, Member States shall issue driving licences, in accordance with Article 10(1), for categories B, C and C1 and C marked with the Union code 98.02 specified in Annex I, Part E, to applicants who have reached the age of 17 years. [Am. 111]

Added2. Holders of a driving licence marked with the Union code 98.02 who have not reached the age of 18 years shall only drive when accompanied by a person in the front passenger seat, who is able to provide guidance during the driving. The accompanying person shall comply with the rules on driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or in an incapacitated state due to any other reason, and shall meetwho meets the following conditions: [Am. 112]

Added(a) has a minimum age of 25 years;

Added(b) holds aan EU driving licence of the relevant category issued more than five years ago; [Am. 113]

Added(c) has not been subject to a driving disqualification over the last five years;

Added(d) has not been subject to a decision in the field of criminal law resulting from a road-traffic related offence;

Added(e) in the case of a vehicle of category Ccategories C and C1 has the qualification and training provided by Directive (EU) 2022/2561. [Am. 114]

Added(ea) in the case of a vehicle category C and C1, has undergone a dedicated 7-hour training course to learn the necessary professional and pedagogical skills, as part of their periodic CPC training. [Am. 115]

AddedMember States may decide to increase the duration of the training up to 14 hours. [Am. 116]

Added3. Member States may require the identification of the accompanying persons referred to in the paragraph 2 in order to ensure compliance with this Article. Member States may limit the number of possible accompanying persons.

Added3a. The accompanied driving scheme does not restrict Member States’ existing options to lower the minimum age for category B as set in Article 7(2) of this Directive and to apply related conditions at national level. [Am. 117]

Added4. Member States may apply additional conditions for the issuance of a driving licence marked with the Union code 98.02 to applicants who have not reached the age of 18 years. They shall inform the Commission thereof. The Commission shall make this information available to the public.

Added4a. Member States may reduce the age set out in paragraph 1 to persons having their normal residence in their territory in order to run pilot projects and collect data on the effect of accompanied driving schemes with a lower age as a part of applicant’s training until he or she reaches 3500 km. If a Member State wishes to make use of that option, it shall submit a reasoned request to the Commission. The Commission shall assess such request through a dialogue with the Member State concerned and render a decision within 3 months. The Commission may approve or deny the request by submitting a reasoned opinion, or approve it upon additional conditions in order to ensure road safety. The provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 shall remain applicable, where a derogation is granted by the Commission. Member States shall monitor results of the approved pilot projects and report them to the Commission. The Commission shall assess the requests and, when available, the results of the approved pilot projects in its periodic reviews. [Am. 118]

AddedArticle 15 Probationary period

Added1. The holder of a driving licence of a given category issued for the first time shall be considered a novice driver and shall be subject to a probationary period of at least two years. Member States shall lay down rules on the length of the period and the penalties for novice drivers. [Am. 119]

Added1a. Member States shall establish an obligation for novice drivers to display a standard Union disk on the back windscreen of their vehicle during the whole length of their probationary period. The Commission shall, no later than [6 months from the date of entry into force of this directive] adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 21 establishing the common visual specifications for the common disk. [Am. 268]

Added2. Member States shall lay down rules on penalties for novice drivers who drive with a blood alcohol level exceeding 00.2g /mL or under the influence of psychotropic substances or narcotics.0g/mL The enforcement authorities of Member States shall establish a technical zero tolerance measuring threshold on the basis of the lowest limit of quantification that takes account of passive or accidental exposure and take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. Those penalties shall be effective, proportionate, dissuasive and non‐discriminatorynon-discriminatory, and may include driving disqualifications. [Am. 120]

Added2a. Member States shall lay down stricter rules on penalties for novice drivers, including where they fail to use safety equipment or drive without a valid driving licence, and take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. Those penalties shall be effective, proportionate, dissuasive and non-discriminatory. [Am. 121]

Added2b. Member States may extend the application of the zero tolerance system for alcohol and illicit psychoactive drugs to all drivers. [Am. 269]

Added3. Member States may establish additional rules applicable on their territory to novice drivers during the probationary period to improve road safety. They shall inform the Commission thereof. Those rules shall not limit night-time driving. [Am. 122]

Added4. Member States shall mark driving licences issued during a probationary period with the Union code 98.01 specified in Annex I, Part E.

Added5. A probationary period shall not be applied to drivers obtaining a driving licence of category A2 or A in accordance with Article 10(1), point (c).

Added5a. For drivers obtaining a new category during their probationary period for a previously issued licence category, the probationary period for the new category may be reduced taking into account already completed probationary period, subject to a minimum of 6 months. Such a reduction shall not apply if the existing driving licence is issued for category AM only. [Am. 123]

Added5b. Member States are encouraged to include age-appropriate training on road safety rules and traffic risk awareness trainings as part of their elementary and secondary school curricula. Member States may use revenues earmarked under [Directive 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council] to financially support such initiatives. The Commission may use the resources indicated in [Article 8a of that Directive] also to financially support such initiatives. [Am. 124]

AddedArticle 16 Examiners

Added1. Driving examiners shall meet the minimum standards set out in Annex IV.

AddedDriving examiners already working in that capacity before 19 January 2013the entry into force of this Directive shall be subject only to the requirements concerning quality assurance and regular periodic training measures. [Am. 125]

Added2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 21, to amend Annex IV where necessary in order to take account of technical, operational or scientific developments.

AddedArticle 17 Normal residence

Added1. For the purposes of this Directive, normal residence shall be the place where a person usually lives, that is for at least 185 days in each calendar year, because of personal andor occupational ties, or and, in the case of a person with no occupational ties, because of personal ties which show close links between that person and the place where he or she is living. [Am. 126]

AddedHowever, the normal residence of a person whose occupational ties are in a different place from his or her personal ties and who consequently lives in turn in different places situated in two or more Member States shall be regarded as being the place of his or her personal ties, provided that such person returns there regularly. This last condition need not be met where the person is living in a Member State in order to carry out a task of a definite duration. Attendance at a university or school shall not imply transfer of normal residence.

Added2. For the purposes of Article 10(3), point (b) and Article 11(4), the normal residence of the staff of diplomatic services of the Union or of its Member States, or of the members of their families forming part of their households, shall be considered to be in the territory of the Member States that issued the driving licences that are being renewed or replaced.

AddedFor the purposes of this Article “diplomatic services of the Union” shall include officials from relevant departments of the General Secretariat of the Council and of the Commission, as well as staff seconded from national diplomatic services of the Member States and any other employee or contractor working for the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in the area of external representation and who, in order to be able to perform their contractual duties, have to live at least 181 days in the territory of one or several third countries in a calendar year.

Added3. Where the holder of a driving licence cannot prove the establishment of his or her normal residence in a given Member State under paragraph 1, the holder may as a last resource have his or her driving licence renewed in the Member State that originally issued it.

Added4. By way of derogation from Article 10(1), point (e) and for the specific purpose of the first issuance of a driving licence of category B, an applicant whose Member State of normal residence is different from his or her Member State of citizenship may have his or her driving licence issued by the latter, where the Member State of normal residence does not provide for the possibility to pass the theoretical or practical tests in one of the official EU languages of the Member State of citizenship or with an interpreter. [Am. 127]

AddedArticle 18 Equivalences between non-Union standard model licences

Added1. Member States shall apply the equivalences established by Commission Decision (EU) 2016/1945 between entitlements obtained before 19 January 2013entry into force of this Directive and the categories set out in Article 6 of this Directive. [Am. 128]

Added2. Any entitlement to drive granted before 19 January 2013entry into force of this Directive shall not be removed or in any way qualified by the provisions of this Directive. [Am. 129]

AddedArticle 19 Mutual assistance

Added1. Member States shall assist one another in the implementation of this Directive. They shall exchange information on the licences they have issued, exchanged, replaced, renewed, restricted, suspended, withdrawn, cancelled or revoked, on the driving disqualifications they have imposed or plan to enact and consult each other in order to verify whether an applicant for a driving licence is not subject to a driving disqualification in any Member State. They shall use the EU driving licence network set up for those purposes.

Added2. Member States may also use the EU driving licence network for the exchange of information for the following purposes:

Added(a) to enable their authorities to verify the validity and authenticity of a driving licence during road-side checks or as part of anti-forgery measures;

Added(b) to facilitate investigations that aim to identify the liable person for road-safety-related traffic offences, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

Added(c) to prevent, detect and investigate road traffic-related criminal offences as referred to in accordance with [REFERENCE TO PRÜM II], provided all necessary conditions therein for that purpose apply and with due observance of the principles of purpose limitation, necessity and proportionality; [Am. 130]

Added(d) to enforce Directive (EU) 2022/2561;

Added(e) to implement and enforce [NEW DIRECTIVE ON THE UNION-WIDE EFFECT OF CERTAIN DRIVING DISQUALIFICATIONS].

Added3. Access to the network shall be secured. The network shall provide for both synchronous (real time) and asynchronous exchange of information, and for the sending and receiving of secured messages, notifications and attachments.

AddedMember States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the information exchanged through the network is up-to-date.

AddedMember States may grant access for the network only to the authorities competent for the purposes referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Added4. Member States shall also assist each other in the implementation of the mobile driving licence, in particular to guarantee the seamless interoperability between the applications and verification features referred to in Annex I, Part C.