Changes from adopted text to adopted text

RemovedTEXTS ADOPTED

AddedP10_TA(2025)0233

RemovedP9_TA(2024)0057

Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications

Committee on Transport and Tourism

RemovedPE751.805

AddedPE778.059

ChangedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 621 FebruaryOctober 20242025 on the proposalCouncil forposition at first reading with a Directiveview to the adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council onamending theDirective Union-wide(EU) effect2025/… ofas regards certain driving disqualifications (COM(2023)0128(08351/1/2025 – C9-0036/2023C10-0231/2025 – 2023/0055(COD))

Changed(Ordinary legislative procedure: firstsecond reading)

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the CommissionCouncil proposalposition toat Parliamentfirst andreading the(08351/1/2025 Council- (COM(2023)0128),C10-0231/2025),

Removed– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 91(1), point (c), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9-0036/2023),

Removed– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 June 2023,

– after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Removed– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to its position at first reading on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0128),

Changed– having regard to theArticle report294(7) of the CommitteeTreaty on Transportthe andFunctioning Tourismof (A9-0410/2023),the European Union,

Change 1

Removed1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

Added– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 75(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

Added– having regard to Rule 68 of its Rules of Procedure,

Added– having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A10-0193/2025),

Added1. Approves the Council position at first reading;

Added2. Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position;

Added3. Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Added4. Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 2

RemovedP9_TC1-COD(2023)0055

RemovedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 6 February 2024 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications

Removed(Text with EEA relevance)

RemovedTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RemovedHaving regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91(1), point (c), thereof,

RemovedHaving regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

RemovedAfter transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

RemovedHaving regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

RemovedAfter consulting the Committee of the Regions,

RemovedActing in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

RemovedWhereas:

Removed(1) Improving road safety is a primary objective of the Union’s transport policy. In its EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030, the Commission recommitted to the ambitious goal to get close to zero deaths and zero serious injuries on Union roads by 2050 (“Vision Zero”), as well as to the medium-term aim to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030.

Removed(2) In order to achieve the goal of improving road safety, the Transport Ministers of the Member States, in the 2017 Valetta Declaration on Road Safety of 29 March 2017, called for the strengthening of the Union’s road safety legal framework, with a particular focus on the need for Member States to cooperate in the matter of driving disqualifications of non-resident drivers.

Removed(3) As a result of the free movement of persons and increasing international road traffic, driving disqualifications are frequently imposed by Member States other than the one where the driver normally resides, and which issued the driving licence.

Removed(4) So far, a Member State other than the one where the driver normally resides can take measures, in accordance with its national legislation, and as a result of unlawful conduct in its territory by the holder of a driving licence obtained in another Member State, which result in refusing to recognise the validity of driving licences issued by other Member States and, therefore, in a restriction of the right to drive of the person concerned. However, the scope of those measures is limited to the territory of the Member State where the unlawful conduct took place and their effect limited to the refusal to recognise the validity of that licence within that territory. Accordingly, in the absence of any action by the Member State that issued the driving licence, that driving licence continues to be recognised in all other Member States. Such a scenario however prevents achieving a higher level of road safety in the Union. Drivers disqualified from driving in a Member State other than the one which issued the driving licence should not escape the effects of such measure when present in a Member State other than that of the offence.

Removed(5) In order to ensure a high level of protection for all road users in the Union, it is necessary to lay down specific rules for the Union-wide application of driving disqualifications imposed by a Member State other than the one that issued the driving licence of the offender, which result from major road-safety related traffic offences.

Removed(6) However, the implementation of this Directive should respect the principle of subsidiarity and not require the harmonisation of national rules concerning the definition of road traffic offences, their legal nature and the applicable sanctions for such offences. In particular, the Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications should be pursued regardless of the qualification of the national measures in the Member State of offence as administrative or criminal. When applying a Union-wide driving disqualification, within the existing legal limits of the national rules in that regard, the Member States should aim to align their decisions, as much as possible. [Am. 1]

Removed(7) This Directive should be without prejudice to the rules on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and on mutual recognition of related judicial decisions. Also, it should not affect the possibility of the judicial authorities of the Member States to execute decisions they have issued, in particular decisions of criminal nature.

Removed(8) The precise aim of this Directive is to enable the Union to pursue the goal of improving road safety across the Union. As the Court of Justice has held, measures seeking to improve road safety form part of transport policy and may be adopted on the basis of Article 91(1), point (c), of the Treaty, in so far as they are ‘measures to improve transport safety’ within the meaning of that provision.

Removed(9) Driving disqualifications resulting from major road-safety-related traffic offences can consist in the withdrawal, restriction or suspension of the driving licence or the right to drive of the offender. Where the offence was committed in the Member State that issued the driving licence, it can also consist in their cancellation. Therefore it should be through the application of all these measures by the Member State which issued the driving licence, that the Union-wide effects of driving disqualifications should be achieved.

Removed(10) As drink-driving (namely driving with a blood alcohol level that surpasses the maximum value allowed by the law), speeding (that is to say exceeding the speed limits in force for the road or type of vehicle concerned) and driving under the influence of drugs and psychoactive substances constitute the leading causes of road traffic crashes and fatalities within the Union, the highest possible diligence should be provided for cases relating to those offences, which should thus be considered as ‘major road-safety-related traffic offences’ for the purposes of this Directive. Furthermore, given their seriousness, road traffic offences which result in the death or serious bodily injury of the victim, or driving without a valid driving licence should also be considered as major offences. [Am. 2]

Removed(11) Driving disqualifications imposed by a Member State with respect to a person who is not a normal resident within the meaning of Article 17 of [NEW DIRECTIVE ON DRIVING LICENCES], and who holds a driving licence issued by another Member State, should have effects across the entire territory of the Union, in similar terms as driving disqualifications imposed with respect to persons who hold driving licences issued by that Member State already have. Also in view of the principle of procedural autonomy, Member States should be free to decide how to best achieve that result in accordance with their national law. Account should be taken, however, of the fact that where a Member State imposes a driving disqualification on a person having normal residence in that Member State, but holding a driving licence issued by another Member State, the former is entitled to exchange the licence for the purpose of applying that driving disqualification in accordance with Article 11(2) of [NEW DIRECTIVE ON DRIVING LICENCES].

Removed(12) The Member State which imposed the driving disqualification (“Member State of the offence”) should notify the Member State that issued the driving licence of the person concerned (“Member State of issuance”) of any driving disqualification imposed for a duration of one month or more on such person, in order to trigger the procedures necessary to ensure the Union-wide effect of the driving disqualification. Such notification should be transmitted by means of a standard certificate no later than ten working days after the decision imposing the driving disqualification, in order to ensure a seamless, reliable and effective exchange of information between the Member States. The transmission of the certificate and the exchange of other required information between the national contact points of the Member States in respect of the application of this Directive should be carried out through the EU driving licence network ('RESPER'). [Am. 3]

Removed(13) The standard certificate should contain a minimum set of data allowing for the proper implementation of this Directive, namely the authority of the Member State of the offence imposing the driving disqualification, a description of the major road-safety-related traffic offence committed, the resulting driving disqualification, details identifying the person concerned, and the procedures followed for the imposition of the disqualification. Such certificate should also be translated into an official language of the Member State of issuance or to any other language that the Member State of issuance has accepted, in order to ensure quick processing by the addressee. Through providing only for this information the standard certificate can guarantee effectiveness without obliging Member States to share not proportionate or excessive amounts of information. [Am. 4]

Removed(14) The imposition of driving disqualifications as a consequence of unlawful conducts contributes to guaranteeing a high level of road safety within the Union. Based on the principle of mutual recognition of driving licences issued in the Member States, measures concerning the withdrawal, cancellation, suspension or restriction of a driving licence issued by the Member State of issuance are automatically recognized by all other Member States. Accordingly, the Member Sate of issuance should be required to ensure that driving disqualifications adopted by other Member States are recognised by all Member States. Therefore, upon notification of the imposed driving disqualification, and unless a ground for exemption applies or is invoked, the Member State of issuance should take the appropriate measures to extend the effect of the driving disqualification to the Union.

Removed(15) The measure taken by the Member State of the issuance should vary depending on the specific nature of the driving disqualification. Given that a withdrawal, suspension or restriction of a driving licence or right to drive necessarily have different consequences, they require different procedures to be given effect in compliance with the competences of the Member States involved. In particular, specifically as regards withdrawal, the person concerned should be able to recover the driving licence or the right to drive in accordance with the rules applicable to alike circumstances in the Member State of issuance. As regards suspension or restriction, it should be ensured that only the duration of such measures is given a Union-wide effect, even where the driving disqualification provides for additional conditions, because the primary goal of those measures is to temporarily or partially prevent the person concerned from driving and not to determine how that person should recover her or his right to drive in the Member State of issuance.

Removed(16) In principle, the possibility for Member States to apply driving disqualifications within their territory should not be limited by this Directive. Accordingly, the Member State of the offence should be able to continue to apply, in accordance with its national rules and with effects limited to its territory, driving disqualifications and any additional conditions set thereunder until the person concerned complies with them.

Removed(17) However, it is also important to take into account that the evaluation of the compliance with the requirements set under Union law for obtaining a driving licence is a competence of the Member State of issuance. The application of additional conditions in the Member State of issuance should also not result in duplicating the requirements that a concerned person must fulfil to prove that regaining a driving licence or the right to drive will not pose a danger to road safety in the Union. In light of that, where the Member State of issuance has adopted measures to ensure the Union-wide effect of the driving disqualification and, following that, has reassessed whether the person concerned is suitable to recover a driving licence or the right to drive, that assessment should be recognised across the entire Union and therefore also in the Member State of offence.

Removed(18) The application of measures by the Member State of issuance should serve the purpose of ensuring that a driving disqualification has Union-wide effect and should not require a new assessment of the facts that lead to the disqualification. However, in order to guarantee that the Union-wide effect is not contrary to the principle of proportionality, fundamental rights or exceptions provided for in the law of the Member State of issuance it is appropriate to lay down certain grounds that exempt the Member State of issuance from the obligation of adopting measures.

Removed(19) In the interest of road safety and in order to provide legal certainty for the person concerned and for the Member State of the offence, the Member State of issuance should ensure the Union-wide effect of the driving disqualification or apply a ground for exemption within the shortest possible time, and in any case no later than 15 days after it has been notified of the disqualification. This should be without prejudice to situations where exceptional circumstances prevent compliance with that time limit. Even in such exceptional cases, however, the Member State of issuance should act without undue delay, and inform the Member State of offence about the period and reason for delay.

Removed(20) The proper implementation of this Directive presupposes close, swift and effective communication between the competent national authorities involved. The competent national authorities of the Member States should therefore consult each other whenever necessary, via appropriate means. Moreover, in specific well-defined cases, both the Member State of issuance and Member State of offence should provide each other with important information in relation to the application of this Directive without delay. This should be the case forno later than ten working days following a decision on the adoption of measures granting a Union-wide effect to driving disqualifications, decisions or a decision taken on grounds of exemption, the completion of the driving disqualifications and for any circumstances affecting the originally imposed driving disqualifications. [Am. 5]

Removed(21) After being notified of a driving disqualification and granting it Union-wide effects, the Member State of issuance should inform the person concerned without delayno later than seven working days following that notification, in order to allow the exercise of fundamental rights such as the right to be heard and to challenge the decisions before the competent national courts and tribunals. [Am. 6]