No C 16/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 1. 89 
Proposal for a third Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States 
relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles 
COM(88) 644 final — SYN 165 
(Submitted by the Commission on 23 December 1988) 
(89/C 16/04) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas, by Directive 72/166/EEC ('), as last amended 
by Directive 84/5/EEC (2), the Council adopted 
provisions on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to insurance against civil liability 
in respect of the use of motor vehicles and to the 
enforcement of the obligation to insure against such 
liability; 
Whereas Article 3 of Directive 72/166/EEC required 
each Member State to take all appropriate measures to 
ensure that civil liability in respect of the use of vehicles 
normally based in its territory is covered by insurance; 
whereas the extent of the liability covered and the terms 
and conditions of the insurance cover were to be 
determined on the basis of those measures; 
Whereas Directive 84/5/EEC reduced considerably the 
disparities between the level and content of compulsory 
civil liability insurance in the Member States; 
Whereas, however, significant disparities still exist in the 
coverage of such insurance; 
Whereas the elimination of such disparities, by ensuring 
that motor vehicle accident victims receive comparable 
treatment irrespective of where in the Community an 
accident occurs, will further facilitate the establishment 
and the operation of the internal market; 
Whereas, in particular, there are gaps in the compulsory 
insurance coverage of vehicle passengers in certain 
Member States; whereas, to protect this particularly 
vulnerable category of potential victims, such gaps 
should be filled; 
(') OJ No L 103, 2. 5. 1972, p. 2. 
(2) OJ No L 8, 11. 1. 1984, p. 17. Whereas it is necessary to remove uncertainty concerning 
the application of the first indent of Article 3 (2) of 
Directive 72/166/EEC; whereas all compulsory motor 
insurance policies must cover the entire territory of the 
Community and provide under a single premium at least 
the cover required by law in all the Member States; 
Whereas Article 1 (4) of Directive 84/5/EEC requires 
each Member State to set up or authorize a body to 
compensate the victims of accidents caused by uninsured 
or unidentified vehicles; whereas, however, the said 
provision is without prejudice to the right of the Member 
States to regard compensation by the body as subsidiary 
or non-subsidiary; 
Whereas, however, in the case of an accident caused by 
an uninsured vehicle the victim is required in certain 
Member States to establish that the party responsible is 
unable or unwilling to pay compensation before he can 
claim on the body; whereas the body is better placed 
than the victim to take action against the party 
responsible; whereas, therefore, the body should not be 
able to invoke its .subsidiarily in this case but should 
compensate the victim in the first instance; 
Whereas, in the event of a dispute between the body 
referred to above and a civil liability insurer as to which 
of them should compensate the victim of an accident, 
Member States, to avoid delay in the payment of 
compensation to the victim, should designate either the 
body or the insurer as responsible for paying compen­
sation in the first instance pending resolution of the 
dispute, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 
2 (1) of Directive 84/5/EEC, the insurance referred to 
in Article 3 (1) of Directive 72/166/EEC and in Article 1 
(1) of Directive 84/5/EEC shall cover liability for 
personal injuries to all passengers, other than the driver, 
arising out of the use of a vehicle. 
For the purposes of this Directive the meaning of the 
term 'vehicle' is as defined in Article 1 of Directive 
72/166/EEC. 
20. 1. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 16/13 
Article 2 
Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure 
that all policies of compulsory insurance covering civil 
liability in respect of the use of vehicles: 
— cover, on the basis of a single premium, the entire 
territory of the Community; and 
— provide, on the basis of the same single premium, in 
addition to the cover required by law in the Member 
State in which the vehicle is normally based, at least 
the cover required by law in each of the other 
Member States. 
Article 3 
The following sentence shall be added to the first 
subparagraph of Article 1 (4) of Council Directive 
84/5/EEC: 
'However, Member States may not allow the body to 
make the payment of compensation conditional on 
the victim's establishing in any way that the person 
responsible is unable or unwilling to pay'. Article 4 
For-the case where there is a dispute between the body 
referred to in Article 1 (4) of Directive 84/5/EEC and 
the civil liability insurer as to which must compensate the 
victim, Member States shall designate one of these 
parties as responsible for compensating the victim 
without delay in the first instance. If it is ultimately 
decided that the other party should have paid all or part 
of the compensation it shall reimburse accordingly the 
party which has paid. 
Article 5 
Member States shall adopt the provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive not later than 31 December 
1992. They shall forthwith inform the Commission 
thereof. 
Article 6 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.