EU Council Backs Mutual Recognition of Driving Bans

Brussels (Eurotoday) – The European Council endorsed mutual recognition of driving disqualifications across EU states to enhance road safety and enforce sanctions.

The European Council adopted its negotiating position on a European Commission proposal concerning certain driving disqualifications constituting part of the so-called ‘road safety’ legislative package. 

The proposal is a component of the “road safety package”, adopted by the EU Commission on 1 March 2023, which includes the revision of the directive on driving licences and the revision of the directive on cross-border enforcement of road-safety-related violations. Under the proposal, the member state which gave the driving licence (‘member state of issuance’) will be obliged to execute, under specific conditions and per its national legislation, a driving disqualification set on a road traffic offender by another member state where the heavy road traffic offence has been perpetrated (‘member state of the offence’).

What are the main elements of the Council’s position?

As reported by the EU Council, as an alternative strategy to the EU-wide effect proposed by the Commission and given that a member state cannot ensure that its national rules on driving disqualifications are enforced by the other member states, the Council’s position assembles on the instrument for mutual recognition of the driving licences under the new directive on driving licences. 

What is the EU Council’s position on driving disqualifications?

Council states that the different kinds of driving disqualifications have been clearly explained, and adaptations have been pushed so that all member states can enforce the directive even when specific types of driving disqualifications are not present in their national system. To ease the administrative burden, driving disqualifications with a period of less than three months and for which the remaining time to be served is less than one month are excluded from the range of the directive. 

According to the Council’s standing, the member state of the offence possesses the possibility, in accordance with its national regulations and with effects confined to its territory, to apply driving disqualifications and any complementary requirements set thereunder until the driver yields with them. The member state of the offence may also set a period of ban for re-issuing a driving licence during which it may decide not to identify the driving licence that was re-issued in the member state of issuance.