WRITTEN QUESTION P-3092/00

by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 September 2000)

Subject: Levying of fines in the EU

In Finland, fines are means-tested so that a day-fine constitutes a fixed proportion of the daily earnings of the offender: one sixtieth of his net income. For this purpose, net income is defined on the basis of the offender's mean monthly income as calculated according to the most recent tax assessment, less certain taxes and charges laid down by regulation and less a fixed allowance for basic expenditure.

Day-fines are imposed for a minimum of one day and a maximum of 120. The total amount payable is the amount per day multiplied by the number of days. No maximum amount is laid down by law. In practice, exceeding the speed limit by around 30 km/hr may result in a fine amounting to hundreds of thousands of marks. Fines as swingeing as this are out of all proportion, for example, to fines imposed by courts for crimes of violence. In a crime of violence, another person's physical integrity is violated. In a situation where exceeding the speed limit does not seriously endanger traffic, the offence and the penalty for it ought to be in reasonable proportion with each other.

European Union Member States impose fines in different ways. In some countries clear maximum amounts are laid down for daily instalments of fines and for the total fine which may be imposed. In setting day-fines, account is taken, for example, of the offender's income, property and liability for maintenance.

Is the Commission aware of the unequal treatment of citizens with regard to speeding fines in relation to other offences? Has the Commission reviewed the various practices of the Member States with regard to fines? What view does the Commission take of disproportionately large fines? Will the Commission harmonise speeding fines?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(23 October 2000)

While the Commission is generally of the opinion that fines should be proportionate to the severity of the offence for which they were imposed, it must be acknowledged that it is very difficult to determine in individual cases whether this criterion has been met or not. Different Member States may have different sets of values and what would appear proportionate in one Member State may be seen as disproportionate in another.

The Commission is aware of the fact that there are significant differences among Member States in relation to fines for speeding offences. There is no legislation at Union level that sets maximum amounts to be imposed in such cases. The Union Convention on driving disqualifications adopted by the Council on 17 June 1998(1) does not harmonise penalties for road traffic offences. This is thus a matter entirely at the Member States' discretion.

The special meeting of the European Council in Tampere in October 1999, on the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice, identified priority areas for the approximation of sanctions. Conclusion 23 calls for legislation to be adopted that would foresee severe sanctions against the crime of trafficking in human beings and economic exploitation of migrants, and conclusion 48 at least in the first instance limits efforts to agree on common sanctions to a number of sectors of particular relevance. Fines for excessive speed on public roads do not appear among these.

(1) OJ C 216, 10.7.1998.