Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2014:2166
Date: 2014-09-04
Language of the case: German
Subject matter: Transport
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 23 April 2015 1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Identification of the relevant aspects of EU law — Reformulation of the questions (Art. 267 TFEU) 2. Transport — Road transport — Driving licences — Directive 2006/126 — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Refusal of a Member State to recognise the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State, on account of the unlawful conduct of the holder in the territory of the first Member State — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Directive 2006/126, Arts 2(1) and 11(4), second subpara.) 3. Transport — Road transport — Driving licences — Directive 2006/126 — Mutual recognition of driving licences — Conditions applicable to the recovery of the right to drive after a refusal to recognise the validity of a driving licence issued by another Member State — Member States’ discretion — Limits — Observance of the principle of proportionality — To be determined by the national court (European Parliament and Council Directive 2006/126, Art. 11(4), second subpara.) 1. See the text of the decision. (see paras 42, 43) 2. Article 2(1) and the second subparagraph of Article 11(4) of Directive 2006/126 on driving licences must be interpreted as meaning that a Member State in whose territory the holder of a driving licence issued by another Member State is staying temporarily is not precluded from refusing to recognise the validity of that driving licence on account of unlawful conduct on the part of its holder in the territory of the first Member State after that driving licence has been issued that results, under the national law of the first Member State, in unfitness to drive motor vehicles. While the option whereby a Member State can withdraw the authorisation to drive in its territory from a holder of a driving licence does indeed constitute a limitation of the principle of mutual recognition of driving licences, that limitation, which allows the risk of traffic accidents to be reduced, none the less reinforces road safety, which is in the interests of all citizens. (see paras 70, 71, operative part 1) 3. A Member State which refuses to recognise the validity of a driving licence under Article 11(4) of Directive 2006/126 on driving licences is competent to lay down the conditions with which the holder of a driving licence issued by another Member State must comply in order to recover the right to drive in that Member State’s territory. It is for the national court to examine whether, in applying its own rules, the Member State in question is not in fact refusing indefinitely to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State. In that context, it is for the national court to ascertain whether the conditions laid down by the legislation of the first Member State, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objective of Directive 2006/126, which is to improve road safety. (see para. 84, operative part 2)