EUROPEAN
COMMISSION

Brussels, 1.3.2023
COM(2023) 128 final
2023/0055 (COD)

Proposal for a
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
on the Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications
{SWD(2023) 128-129} - {SEC(2023) 350}

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

Improving road safety is a prime objective of the Union's transport policy. The Union is
pursuing a policy to improve road safety with the objective of reducing fatalities, injuries and
material damage.
Over the last 20 years, EU roads have become significantly safer. The number of road
fatalities has gone down by 61.5% from around 51,400 in 2001 to around 19,800 in 2021.
Nevertheless, the improvement in road safety has not been strong enough to meet the EU’s
political ambition to decrease the number of road deaths by 50% between 2001 and 2010, and
by additional 50% between 2011 and 2020 (i.e. by 75% between 2001 and 2020) stemming
from a number of strategic documents issued by the Commission over the last two decades,
such as the White Paper on European Transport Policy for 20101, or the Communication
from the Commission on Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road
safety 2011-20202. In its Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy3 of 2020, the Commission
committed to target zero fatalities in all modes of transport by 2050.
While the number of road fatalities in 2020 was 17% lower than in 2019, this was heavily
influenced by an unprecedented drop in road traffic volumes in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic4. In the years before 2020, there was hardly any drop in the number of road
fatalities. This slowdown, that already appeared around 2014, prompted the Transport
Ministers of the Member States of the Union to issue a ministerial declaration on road safety
at the informal transport Council in Valletta in March 20175. In that declaration, the Member
States called upon the Commission to explore the strengthening of the Union’s road safety
legal framework to reverse that stagnating trend.
The Valletta Declaration6 explicitly called for action on the issue of mutual recognition of
driving disqualifications concerning non-resident drivers:
“The transport ministers call upon the Commission to: (…) explore the strengthening of the
Union's road safety legal framework with a particular focus on Member States' cooperation
on the mutual recognition of the driving disqualifications of non-resident drivers, without
prejudice to the appropriate legal base(s) for such proposals (…).”
In that context, an important element of the Union’s efforts to improve road safety is the
consistent enforcement of sanctions for road traffic offences committed in the Union.
However, under the current legal framework, the sanction of driving disqualification cannot
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3
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COM(2001) 370 final.
COM(2010) 389 final.
COM(2020) 789 final.
During the first lockdown in April 2020, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) reported a 7085% reduction in traffic volumes in major European cities (https://etsc.eu/covid-19-huge-drop-intraffic-in-europe-but-impact-on-road-deaths-unclear/)
See: https://eumos.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2017/07/Valletta_Declaration_on_Improving_Road_Safety.pdf; in June 2017, the
Council adopted conclusions on road safety endorsing the Valletta Declaration (see document 9994/17).
Valletta Declaration on Road Safety, 2015, point 9(c).

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be granted a Union-wide effect where the offence is committed in a Member State other than
the one which issued the driving licence.
Because the issuance of a driving licence is a sovereign act, such document cannot be
withdrawn with the same effect by another Member State. Therefore, only the Member State
that issued the driving license can withdraw it with a Union-wide effect. Other Member States
may only restrict the right to drive as regards their respective territory, in line with the
territoriality principle7. It is therefore imperative for a Union-wide effect of driving
disqualifications and to prevent the relative impunity of road traffic offenders that a Union
framework is established.
Which authorities can adopt decisions imposing driving disqualifications varies between
Member States. Therefore, the imposition of the Union-wide driving disqualification should
be established on the basis of national law of the Member State that has issued the driving
licence. Under the proposal, Member States will be obliged to provide an auxiliary Unionwide effect, in accordance with their own national legislation, to a driving disqualification that
was imposed by another Member State.
The framework should be based on the principle that effects pertaining to the withdrawal,
suspension or restriction of a driving licence should to the furthest possible extent be applied
in the whole Union, thus establishing Union-wide disqualification. Such a framework enables
the EU to reach similar results as if the decisions leading to driving disqualifications were
mutually recognized, while also catering the specificities of road transport and ensuring that
there is no overlap between the Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications and the
instruments used in the field of criminal cooperation.
The scope of this initiative covers those road traffic offences that most contribute to road
traffic accidents and fatalities, namely: excessive speeding; drink-driving; driving under the
influence of drugs and causing death or serious bodily injury as a result of any road safety
related traffic offence.
Speed not only has a direct influence on collision occurrence and the severity of collisions,
but speeding is actually by far the most recorded road traffic offence on average8. The number
of collisions and the severity of those collisions increase exponentially as driving speed
increases. Likewise, reducing speed by only a few km/h can significantly reduce the number
and severity of collisions9.
The share of speeding offences committed by non-resident drivers can differ greatly across
Member States. On average, around 18% of all speeding offences are committed by nonresident drivers. This means that there is a material group of drivers who commit serious
traffic offences in other Member States but are not (fully) held accountable for them. Speed
enforcement aims to deter drivers from exceeding speed limits by penalising those that do.
This not only affects the speed of drivers who feel typified by those that actually get

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This interpretation is continuously reiterated in the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European
Union as well, see for example: case C-419/10, Hofmann, ECLI:EU:C:2012:240, and case C-260/13,
Aykul, ECLI:EU:C:2015:257.
https://etsc.eu/wp-content/uploads/ETSC_PINFLASH42_v2TH_JC_FINAL_corrected-060522.pdf
Ibid.

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sanctioned (specific deterrence), but also those who see or hear that drivers keep being
penalised (general deterrence)10.
By partially removing the existing impunity of these offenders through allowing Member
States to mutually recognize driving disqualifications stemming from speeding, it is expected
that their driving speed will lessen, as they will feel the need to comply with speed regulations
abroad to the same extent they do in their own Member State. In fact, especially considering
that speeding is the most committed road traffic offence, the mutual recognition of driving
disqualifications stemming from its commission is expected to have a significant effect on
road safety alone, as for example certain stakeholders estimate that 2,100 lives could be saved
each year if the average speed dropped by only 1 km/h on all roads across the EU11.
The same logic applies to drink driving. The number of drink driving offences is estimated at
1.2 million in 2019 and it is projected to increase to 1.5 million by 2030 and 2.4 million by
2050, drawing on the development of enforcement intensity over the period 2010-201912. A
recent study carried out in the context of the DRUID (Driving under the Influence of Drugs,
Alcohol and Medicines) project was used to estimate the share of offences in which the tested
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was higher than 0.813. At EU level, some 26% of all
alcohol offences were estimated to be severe, with a possible loss of licence as a consequence.
In addition, it has been estimated that non-resident drivers commit around 15% of all traffic
offences14.
Similarly, drugs can affect mental and physiological functions, causing impairment. In fact
based on epidemiological studies of road fatalities at national level it is estimated that the
share of road fatalities with involvement of drugs (including medicines) is 15-25%15.
According to another report of the DRUID project16, the primary general deterrent factor
concerning drug-driving is the perceived risk of detection, however, a survey carried out in
2018 showed that only 14% of the general driving population believe it likely that they are
going to be checked for the use of illegal drugs17. The visibility of enforcement of offences
related to driving while influenced by drugs should therefore be raised. On that consideration,
and concerning the link between drugs and alcohol (commonly referred together as “driving
under the influence” or “DUI”), it is necessary to include the offence of driving under the
influence of drugs in the proposed Directive.
Apart from offences related to speeding and driving under the influence, other conducts that
infringe road traffic regulations, can also lead to serious bodily injury or even fatalities, in
particular of vulnerable road users such as children, pedestrians, cyclists, and people on
10
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Ibid.
ETSC (2019), PIN Flash 36, Reducing Speeding in Europe https://bit.ly/2YZgSzr
European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Modijefsky, M., Janse, R.,
Spit, W., et al., Prevention of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs: final report, Publications
Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2832/284545
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2012): Driving Under the Influence of
Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines in Europe – findings from the DRUID project
(https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_192773_EN_TDXA12006ENN.pdf)
SWD(2023) 126 final
European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Modijefsky, M., Janse, R.,
Spit, W., et al., Prevention of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs : final report,
Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2832/284545
Microsoft Word - FINAL Deliverable 4_2_1 DRAFTv10 (bast.de)
https://www.esranet.eu/en/publications/

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(electric) scooters and those whose mobility is reduced. On those considerations, the proposed
Directive provides for the extension of the effect of driving disqualifications arising from
those conducts to the EU as a whole.
The evaluation of Directive 2006/126/EC18 concluded that the absence of a specific and
efficient EU framework for driving disqualifications poses challenges when it comes to
preventing abuses by drivers that commit offences on the territory of one Member State but
then can continue to drive in another Member State without bearing consequences of the
offences. This was corroborated by the views of 16 out of 21 respondents representing
national authorities who saw the fact that residents and non-residents of the Member State
where the offence was committed do not face the same consequences regarding driving
disqualification, as a generally important problem. When asked about the absence of a Unionwide driving disqualification provided through the means of mutual recognition of decisions,
some Member States confirmed that it renders difficult the enforcement of disqualification
across borders and hence poses a risk to road safety in the EU, especially in cases where the
banning from driving resulted from serious offences (e.g. driving under the influence of
alcohol). The targeted survey with national authorities carried out in the context of the
evaluation broadly confirmed that there may be a negative impact on road safety and driving
licence tourism resulting from the absence of an EU framework for driving disqualifications
though its impact would be difficult to assess.
When this Explanatory Memorandum refers to the mutual recognition of driving
disqualifications in the context of the preparatory work, it should be read as the policy
objective to provide for a Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications, as that was always
the original purpose of the initiative.
Moreover, providing for a Union-wide effect of driving disqualification through the means of
mutual recognition of decisions, has also been examined in the context of the preparatory
work for Directive 2015/41319.
In the preparatory work of the revision of Directive 2006/126/EC the large majority of
respondents to the Open Public Consultation (OPC) (68%, 5,146 out of 7,532) stated that it is
either very important or important that the scope of that Directive is expanded to include rules
on the mutual recognition of driving disqualification. Most stakeholders20 supported during
the workshop and the targeted interviews to develop the concept of the mutual recognition of
driving disqualifications. However, the Netherlands mentioned some legal concerns21, while
Germany had some concerns at least in the initial phase.
Overall, many stakeholders were supportive of the Union-wide driving disqualification
provided through the means of mutual recognition of decisions, especially when it comes to
offenses related to speeding and drink- driving. This was confirmed in the OPC, where about
6,106 (81%) and 4,966 (66%) out of 7,532 respondents, considered a Union-wide driving
18

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20
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Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2022)0017 final Evaluation of the Directive 2006/126/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences.
The statistics and the results of survey presented herewith form part of Impact assessment support study
for the revision of Directive (EU) 2015/413 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on roadsafety-related traffic offences, ECORYS consortium (2022), MOVE/C2/SER/2019-425/SI2.819667 –
link to be added.
European federation of road victims, FR, ETSC, HU, SE, SI, BE, CEETAR, and NL.
NL raised concerns regarding the diverse rules and procedures applicable across the EU.

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disqualification provided through the means of mutual recognition of decisions resulting from
driving under the influence of alcohol or of drugs and from speeding as either very important
or important for the revision of Directive 2006/126/EC respectively. In particular, when asked
which offences should be provided such an effect in the EU, 87% of respondents to the OPC
(6,586 out of 7,532) chose driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and 46% (3,470
out of 7,532) selected speeding. In the targeted interviews, some stakeholders22 expressed
support for providing a Union-wide driving disqualification through the means of mutual
recognition of decisions resulting from speeding, drink- driving. Sweden, Slovenia and
Belgium were also supportive, despite acknowledging the difficulties in finding an agreement
with other Member States and with the actual implementation.
The absence of a clear EU framework for a Union-wide driving disqualification provided
through the means of mutual recognition of decisions poses challenges when it comes to
preventing abuse by drivers and impacts road safety. This finding was also corroborated by
Member States during the targeted interviews. Reducing both dangerous behaviours by
drivers and the number of unlicensed drivers seem to be relevant factors for stakeholders that
responded to the OPC. In effect, about 55% (5,063 out of 7,532) and 69% (5,201 out of 7,532)
of them, respectively, rated them as either extremely or very important.
In the targeted survey, a large majority of representatives from national authorities identified
the fact that residents and non-residents of the Member State where the offence was
committed do not face the same consequences regarding driving disqualification in the EU as
a generally important problem (16/21). In the targeted survey, respondents from nongovernmental organisations agreed that residents and non-residents not facing the same
consequences regarding driving disqualification is an important problem in relation to road
safety (64%). Similarly, they agreed that residents and non-residents not facing the same
consequences regarding penalty/demerit points is an important problem in relation to road
safety (64%).
National authorities estimated that, on average, the number of offences resulting in driving
disqualifications committed per year is in the range of 25,000 to above 50,000. The number of
driving disqualifications for resident drivers (e.g. driving licence is issued in the same
Member State that imposes the disqualification) was estimated in the range of 0 to 5,000. The
number of driving disqualifications for non-resident drivers (e.g. driving licence is not issued
in the Member State that imposes the disqualification) was estimated in the range of 0 to
5,000. More respondents estimated the number of offences resulting in penalty/demerit points
committed per year in the range of 0 to 1,000. Slightly more respondents estimated the
number of offences resulting in penalty/demerit points for resident drivers (e.g. driving
licence is issued in the same Member State that imposes the penalty/demerit point) in the
range of 0 to 1,000. The number of offences resulting in penalty/demerit points for drivers
resident in another EU Member State (e.g. driving licence is not issued in the Member State
that imposes the disqualification) was estimated in the range of 0 to 5,000.
In light of the preparatory work, it is confirmed that establishing a specific and efficient
system for the provision of Union-wide effects of driving disqualifications is likely to have a
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the European Transport Safety Council, the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers and the
Dansk Kørelærer-Union

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significant effect on road safety. Furthermore, this proposal forms part of a package that
concerns the revision of two other related directives:


Directive (EU) 2015/413 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on
road-safety-related traffic offences23 and



Directive 2006/126/EC on driving licences24.

Directive (EU) 2015/413 is one of the cornerstones of the enforcement of certain well-defined
road traffic offences, where such offences were committed with a vehicle registered in
another Member State than where the offence was committed, which in most cases also
indicates commission by a non-resident offender. It was therefore important to align the scope
of this proposal to the offences of that initiative as much as possible. Otherwise, enforcement
authorities might not have sufficient tools to actually conduct the investigation that would end
in a driving disqualification. Moreover, non-resident offenders might not enjoy the same level
of procedural safeguards as their resident counterparts, which the revision of that directive
aims to better guarantee. During the preparatory works for this proposal, it became clear that,
while the applicable thresholds that lead to driving disqualifications differ significantly
between Member States, certain road safety related traffic offences trigger driving
disqualifications in all or most Member States.
•

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area.

Providing for a system of Union-wide effect of the driving disqualification of non-resident
offenders has continuously been a focal point of the initiative to revise Directive
2006/126/EC25.
Article 11(4) of that Directive governs certain elements of driving disqualifications. The
revision of Directive 2006/126/EC, carried out in parallel to this initiative for reasons of legal
consistency and coherence, will cover the issuance of driving licences to drivers who have
been disqualified and the exemptions of the mutual recognition of (the validity of) driving
licences when the holder is subject to a disqualification in a Member State other than the one
that issued the driving licence. Moreover, it will contain provisions facilitating the
enforcement of partial driving disqualifications through the possibility of endorsements.
Proposing a specific legal act to provide a Union-wide effect of driving disqualification
through the means of mutual recognition of decisions has also been a recurring aim of the
Commission. In 2006, the Commission indicated in a Communication on disqualifications
arising from criminal convictions26 that it was considering to propose a legal act to replace the
1998 Convention concerning driving disqualifications27. As regards the mutual recognition of
disqualifications in general, the Commission declared as part of that Communication that it
favoured a sectoral approach, in sectors where a common basis exists between the Member
States (such as driving disqualifications).
23

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26
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Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating
cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences, OJ L 68, 13.3.2015, p. 9.
Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving
licences (Recast), OJ L 403, 30.12.2006, p. 18.
Cf. the inception impact assessment of the initiative to revise the driving licence directive:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12978-Revision-of-theDirective-on-Driving-Licences_en
COM(2006) 73 final.
OJ C 2016, 10.7.1998, p. 1.

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•

Consistency with other Union policies

The proposal is also fully consistent with the main acquis on road safety.
It has no significant bearing on Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of
the Council28 and on Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the
Council 29. It is also consistent with the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 - Next
steps towards "Vision Zero"30 .
As mentioned above, Directive (EU) 2015/413 is being revised in parallel to this proposal, for
reasons of legal consistency and coherence. In that regard it should be reiterated that Directive
(EU) 2015/413 is expected to become the cornerstone of the investigation, and thus indirectly
also contribute to the enforcement in particular in cases where the offender has been detected
remotely. As the revised Directive (EU) 2015/413 aims to expand the information exchange
and mutual assistance between the Member States, an assumption can be made that the
number of successfully investigated offences, and as a result also the imposed driving
disqualifications, will substantially increase.
Similarly, the revision of Directive (EU) 2015/413 aims to grant a higher level of procedural
and fundamental rights protection to the pursued or caught non-resident offenders, regardless
of whether the offence is remotely detected or the offender is apprehended before leaving the
Member State in which the offence was committed.
The revision of Directive 2006/126/EC and the Union’s driving licence framework will also
complement the rules laid down by the proposed Directive as mentioned above. Moreover, the
revised driving licence Directive will help in the practical enforcement of partial restrictions
placed on the driver and reinforce the possibility for the Member State of the offence not to
recognize the validity of the driving licence of the offender in the cases where the proposed
Directive is not applicable.
In addition, rules on the protection of personal data also apply to the exchange of information
related to driving licences, in particular:

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

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and the Council
(General Data Protection Regulation)31; and



Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council32.

Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on the
initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or
passengers (codification), OJ L 330, 23.12.2022, p. 46.
Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on
type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate
technical units intended for such vehicles, as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle
occupants and vulnerable road users, OJ L 325, 16.12.2019, p. 1.
SWD (2019) 283 final.
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016,
p. 1).
Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for

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The proposal is also consistent with other instruments allowing the mutual recognition of
judgements or judicial decisions in criminal matters. It fills a gap with regard to driving
disqualifications deriving from judicial decisions in criminal matters. In order to avoid
possible overlaps between the proposed Directive and the Justice and Home Affairs acquis of
the Union, it is clarified that the proposal is without prejudice to those instruments.
2.

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

•

Legal basis

The primary objective of the proposal is to improve road safety and to ensure a high level of
protection for all road users in the Union, which was also highlighted in the call of the EU
Transport Ministers in the Valletta Declaration.
According to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Union
legislator enjoys wide legislative powers as regards the adoption of appropriate common rules
to establish a common transport policy33. Improving road safety is a prime objective of the
Union’s transport policy. Measures pursuing that objective may therefore be adopted on the
basis of Article 91(1)(c) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)34.
Therefore, the appropriate legal basis for the proposed Directive is Article 91(1)(c) of the
TFEU.
•

Choice of the instrument

Article 91(1)(c) TFEU gives the EU legislator the possibility to adopt both regulations and
directives.
For this proposal, a directive is the most appropriate form of instrument to be used, as to cater
to the differences in the applicable rules on the imposition and enforcement of driving
disqualifications within Member States.
•

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

Under Article 5(3) TEU, the Union shall only act if the proposed action cannot be sufficiently
achieved by the Member States. Under the current legislative framework, resident drivers who
commit even the most reprehensible road traffic offences retain their right to drive in all
Member States other than the Member State where the offence was committed, even if that
Member State restricts such rights. The only situation where a driving disqualification has
Union-wide effect is where the Member State that applies the driving disqualification was the
one that issued the driving licence to the offender.
For reasons of road safety, it is of utmost importance that a Union-wide effect be given to
driving disqualifications within the European Union. This can only be achieved through an
EU legal instrument. The decision to issue a driving licence or to deprive a person of their
the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the
execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89.
33
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Case C-223/02, Spain and Finland v Parliament and Council, ECLI:EU:C:2004:497, paragraph 29 and the case
law cited there.
Case C-43/12, Commission v Parliament and Council, ECLI:EU:C:2014:298, paragraph 43 and the case law cited
there.

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right by disposing the validity of that licence forms part of a Member State’s sovereignty. As
such, the Union-wide effects of a driving disqualification will always be dependent on the
actions of the Member State that issued the driving licence, who does not have the necessary
information, legal instruments or incentive to act without Union intervention.
•

Proportionality

The measures of this initiative do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective of
improving road safety through giving a Union-wide effect to driving disqualifications
resulting from the commission of certain road safety related offences. The Directive provides
for the transmission of the driving disqualification to the Member State that issued the
driving licence only as regards those major road-safety-related traffic offences, which
constitute the main causes of road traffic accidents and fatalities within the EU, namely the
offences of drink-driving (driving with a blood alcohol level that surpasses the maximum
value allowed by the law) and speeding (exceeding the speed limits in force for the road or
type of vehicle concerned), as well as the offence of driving under the influence of drugs. The
driving disqualification can also be transmitted if it relates to a traffic offence which has
caused death or serious bodily injury.
3.

RESULTS
OF
EX-POST
EVALUATIONS,
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

•

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation

STAKEHOLDER

In 2012, a legal study35 was carried out by the Commission as its principal, on the state-ofplay of intra-EU disqualifications of three predefined areas, including driving
disqualifications. The study analysed not only the relevant EU legal framework, but also the
existing multinational and bilateral treaties and conventions. The study, inter alia, concluded
that a new Directive should be adopted, to regulate the cross-border enforcement of driving
disqualifications.
In 2022, the Commission has contracted a consortium composed of the companies Ecorys,
Wavestone and Grimaldi to support36 the Impact Assessment in the revision of Directive (EU)
2015/413. As part of that study, an extensive research was carried out on the regulatory
framework and CJEU jurisprudence concerning driving disqualifications. The conclusion of
that research also supported the creation of a new legal act to provide a Union-wide effect of
driving disqualifications through the means of mutual recognition of such decisions.
As mentioned above, the situation in which a Member State suspends, pursuant to its national
legislation and on account of unlawful conduct in its territory, the right to drive of the holder
of a driving licence issued by another Member State is at present partially governed by
Directive 2006/126/EC.

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Vermeulen, Gert & Bondt, Wendy & Ryckman, Charlotte & Persak, Nina. (2012). The disqualifications
triad: approximating legislation, executing requests, ensuring equivalence.
Impact assessment support study for the revision of Directive (EU) 2015/413 facilitating cross-border
exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences, ECORYS consortium (2022),
MOVE/C2/SER/2019-425/SI2.819667 – link to be added.

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The European Commission has published in 2022 an ex-post evaluation37 of that Directive. It
demonstrated that the combined action of Directive 2006/126/EC and its two predecessors on
driving licences resulted in a common safety level for road users within the Union and has
facilitated free movement. It also showed that there is scope for further enhancing the level of
road safety within the Union as well as the efficiency and proportionality of some of the
regulatory requirements.
•

Stakeholder consultations

In line with the Better Regulation Guidelines38 during the ex-post evaluation of Directive
2006/126/EC and the impact assessment on the revision of that directive, stakeholder
consultations were carried out also with regard to this proposal.
During the preparatory phase of the ex-post evaluation, a stakeholder workshop was
conducted on 16 October 2020, for the purpose of gathering evidence, confirming identified
findings, seeking feedback on emerging findings and collecting views.
An open public consultation was then held between 28 October 2020 and 20 January 2021,
allowing the interested public and stakeholders to express their views on the rules in force.
During the preparatory phase of the impact assessment, interested parties had the possibility
to provide feedback on the Inception Impact Assessment (Q2 2021). Subsequently, the
following targeted consultation activities were carried out:
–

–

Two rounds of interviews:


Exploratory interviews during the inception phase (Q1 and Q2 2022)



In-depth interviews to plug information gaps and assess the expected impacts
of policy measures (Q2 and Q3 2021).

Two rounds of surveys:


A survey to substantiate the problem analysis (Q2 2022).



A survey to assess the impact of policy measures (Q2 and Q3 2022).

Finally, a new open public consultation took place in Q3 2022.
The European Parliament is in favour of a strengthening of the road safety framework notably
by introducing an instrument for the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications39.
•

Collection and use of expertise

During the impact assessment phase, an expert workshop on the consequences of road traffic
offences and medical fitness (Q2 2022) took place.
During the preparatory phases of both the ex-post evaluation phase and the impact
assessment, the committee on driving licences established under Article 9 of Directive
37

38

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Commission Staff Working Document – Evaluation of the Directive 2006/126/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences, SWD/2022/0017 final.
https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-making-process/planning-and-proposing-law/betterregulation_en
European Parliament resolution of 6 October 2021 on the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 20212030 – Recommendations on next steps towards ‘Vision Zero’ (2021/2014(INI))

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2006/126/EC, composed essentially by Member States experts, was constantly informed and
consulted.
•

Impact assessment

An impact assessment has been carried out40 on the revision of Directive 2006/126/EC,
including elements on driving disqualifications. The impact assessment was approved by
written procedure and received a positive opinion without comments by the Regulatory
Scrutiny Board on 18 November 202241. Furthermore, the preparatory work on the revision of
Directive (EU) 2015/413 has also substantially dealt with the matter of providing a Unionwide effect of driving disqualification through the means of mutual recognition of decisions.
The outcome of the research work confirmed that driving disqualification should be included
in the revision of Directive 2006/126/EC, especially as it would not fall within the scope of
Directive (EU) 2015/413. Nevertheless, while developing the policy options, the Commission
has made use of the information gathered during the evaluation and assessment phase for both
Directives42.
The final report of the support study for the impact assessment for the initiative to revise
Directive 2006/126/EC which also covers this proposal, includes a comprehensive description
and assessment of the initiative’s added value and its links with other policy initiatives. These
can be found in Sections 3.3 and 1.3 and 1.5 of that report. A detailed description of the
policy options is included in Section 5.2 and 8.1, while a comprehensive analysis of the
impacts of all options is presented in Section 6. The summary of examined policy options can
be consulted in the Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the proposal on the revision of
Directive 2006/126/EC43. An EU framework for uniform cross-border enforcement of driving
disqualifications was proposed in the Convention on driving disqualifications of 1998
(Council Act of 17 June 1998)44, which did not enter into force due to lack of ratifications by
Member States (only seven Member States ratified it45). For this reason, it was repealed in
2016.46
A step towards providing a Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications seems to have been
taken with the adoption of Directive 2006/126/EC, where the relevant provisions of the
previous Directive on driving licences (Article 8 of Directive 91/439/EEC)47 were partially
amended, in order to mitigate the phenomenon of “driving licence tourism”. However, the
wording of the new provision, Article 11(4) of Directive 2006/126/EC, did not provide the

40
41
42

43
44
45
46

47

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SWD(2023) 128 final.
RSB/RM/cdd – rsb(2022)7907617
The assessment on establishing an EU-wide regime of mutual recognition of driving disqualifications
presented in this Chapter is largely based on the information gathered in the framework of the Impact
Assessment support study for the revision of Directive (EU) 2015/413 facilitating cross-border
exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences – Final Report [to be published].
COM(2023) 127 final
Council Act of 17 June 1998 drawing up the Convention on Driving Disqualifications (98/C 216/01).
BG, CY, IE, RO, SK, ES, and UK.
Regulation (EU) 2016/95 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 January 2016 repealing
certain acts in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, OJ L 26,
2.2.2016, p. 9.
Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences (OJ L 237, 24.8.1991, p. 1)

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necessary clarity. The provision in question, has been interpreted by the CJEU48 on several
occasions, due to doubts stemming from its wording and to the different situations applying
for the disqualifications imposed on residents and non-residents. Furthermore, as also stressed
by the CJEU49, such an obligation is not effective and enforceable until a system for the
exchange of information on disqualifications between Member States is implemented,
enabling all Member States to actually verify if a disqualification imposed abroad is pending
or has been imposed on a driving licence applicant.
As a result of the problems described above, under the current framework non-resident
offenders are only disqualified from driving in the country where they have committed an
offence but can still drive in all other EU Member States, except when the disqualification is
imposed by their Member State of issuance. This is a major issue, if one considers the serious
risk on road safety of drivers circulating within the EU who have their driving licence
suspended, restricted or withdrawn in one of the Member States for serious and reiterate
breaches to road traffic rules.
All the more, outside an express ban to this effect (or when other Member States are not duly
informed of a pending ban) the non-resident driver will be able to apply for a new licence in
his country of residence, to recover the right to drive everywhere, as the new permit is to be
recognised, in principle, even in the country of offence. The same might be done by a driver
disqualified in his own country, by changing his residence before applying for a new permit.
The legal basis for an EU-wide exchange of information on driving disqualifications is indeed
already enshrined in Directive 2006/126/EC50 which expressly requires that Member States
assist one another in the implementation of its measures and exchange information on the
licences they have issued, exchanged, replaced, renewed or revoked, by using the EU driving
licence network set up for these purposes (i.e. RESPER). In addition, Directive (EU)
2015/413 could also facilitate enforcement by requiring the Member State in the territory of
which the offence was committed to inform the offender about any disqualification that
accompany the offence allegedly committed.
Assessment of measures and policy options
The measures under the different policy options have been subject to a quantitative and
qualitative assessment of economic, social (road safety) and fundamental rights impacts. The
2025-2050 time horizon has been selected for assessing the impacts, in line with the baseline
projections. Regarding fundamental rights, the effects will remain controlled by a strict
implementation of rules on data protection, notably in RESPER.
The economic and social impact of the preferred option in relation to providing a Union-wide
effect of driving disqualifications is expected to be overall positive and the initiative should
raise road safety across Member States. Increasing the likelihood of an efficient execution of a
48

49
50

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See, in particular, Judgement of 20 November 2008, Weber, Case C-1/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:640;
Judgement of 2 December 2010, Scheffler, Case 334-09, ECLI:EU:C:2010:731,; Judgement of 26 April
2012, Hofmann, C-419/10, ECLI:EU:C:2012:240, para. 71; Judgement of 23 April 2015, Aykul, C260/13, CECLI:EU:C:2015:257; Judgement of 21 May 2015, Wittmann, C-339/14;
ECLI:EU:C:2015:333.
Case C‑419/10, Hofmann, ECLI:EU:C:2012:240, paragraph 82.
Article 15, Article 7(5) and, according to case-law, also Article 11(4) of that Directive.

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driving disqualification issued in a cross-border context also increases the deterrent effect on
committing a road safety crime regardless of Member States borders. The social impact would
be overall very positive as victims can be ensured that measures linked to road traffic offences
committed by a foreigner will not be left unexecuted.
The goals of the initiative will lead to a limited increase in the operational costs of RESPER.
However, this should be more than offset by the benefits from saving human lives due to
increased road safety.
Businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises are not expected to be directly affected by this
legislative proposal.
•

Fundamental rights

Providing an EU-wide effect of driving disqualification measures may interfere with
fundamental rights protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 51 (the Charter) and the
European Convention on Human Rights52 (ECHR).
The decision of the Member State of issuance to provide a Union-wide effect of driving
disqualifications will further limit the possibility of the offender to drive a power-driven
vehicle in the Union. Depending on his or her personal situation, this may affect the exercise
of his professional activity, his family life, and the possibilities to make use of his or her
motor vehicles. The proposal may therefore affect several fundamental rights; the right to
engage in work or the freedom to conduct a business, the right to family life, the right to
property. Moreover, the envisioned procedures might also impact a person’s right to a fair
trial, his or her right of defence and his or her right to the protection of personal data
concerning him or her.
Limitations of an offender’s fundamental rights may be made if they are necessary and
genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union. This is the case here
where the objective of general interest recognised by the Union, is the improvement of road
safety. The limitations do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve this objective: A driver
who has committed such road traffic offenses in a Member State other than where his driving
licence was issued, while benefitting from free movement, should face the same consequences
when his driving licence is disqualified, as a driver from that Member State where the offense
was committed. They should lose their driving licence or right to drive in the whole Union.
Otherwise, road safety could only be protected in the Member State of the offense, which
would constitute a partial and inefficient outcome.
Moreover, some important safeguards are included in the proposed Directive. The proposal
provides for grounds for exemptions, where there are substantial grounds to believe, on the
basis of specific and objective evidence, that the execution of the driving disqualification
would, in the particular circumstances of the case, entail a breach of a fundamental right set
out in the Charter. Another ground for exemption applies where the procedural safeguards of
in absentia procedures are not respected. It is similar to those that apply for other mutual
recognition instruments since the entry into force of Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA
51
52

EN

OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 391
Council of Europe, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos. 11, 14 and 15, 4 November 1950, ETS 5

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enhancing the procedural rights of persons and fostering the application of the principle of
mutual recognition to decisions rendered in the absence of the person concerned at the trial53.
In addition, Member States shall ensure that legal remedies equivalent to those available in a
similar domestic case are available in the Member State where the offence was committed and
the offender may also appeal against the decision that ensures the Union-wide effect of the
driving disqualification, abolishing such effect and restricting the disqualification to that of
the Member State of the offence when successful. Moreover, information will need to be
provided by the authorities about the possibilities under national law for seeking such legal
remedies when these become applicable and in due time to ensure that they can be exercised
effectively.
If applied with proportionality and complemented with effective procedural safeguards as
described above, the measures in this proposal are compatible with fundamental rights
requirements.
4.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

For transmission and communication between authorities, already existing technical solutions
(such as RESPER - the network for the exchange of information related to driving licences)
are foreseen.
Some technical modifications would be needed to ensure that RESPER is able to exchange
additional elements related to driving disqualifications. It should be noted however, that
overall, these costs are likely not to be substantial. Member States are envisioned to cover
their own costs that arise from the application of the proposed Directive. The associated costs
are related to the additional time spent on investigations and the costs associated to the
notification of the foreign offender.
Finally, it is worth noting that although driving disqualifications are often coupled with
pecuniary penalties, this proposal purposefully disinclines from its scope such penalties and as
such will not contribute in their enforcement.
5.

OTHER ELEMENTS

•

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

The proposal imposes a reporting obligation on the Commission towards the European
Parliament and the Council, concerning the implementation of the proposed directive,
including, in particular, its impact on road safety. The report of the Commission is due five
years after the transposition of the proposed directive by the Member States.
•

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

Article 1: Objective and subject-matter

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Council Framework Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26 February 2009 amending Framework Decisions
2002/584/JHA, 2005/214/JHA, 2006/783/JHA, 2008/909/JHA and 2008/947/JHA, thereby enhancing
the procedural rights of persons and fostering the application of the principle of mutual recognition to
decisions rendered in the absence of the person concerned at the trial (OJ L 81, 27.3.2009, p. 24.)

14

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The proposal aims to ensure a high level of protection for road users in the Union, by laying
down rules providing for Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications for major road-safety
related offences committed in a Member State other than the one that issued the driving
licence of the offender.
Article 2: Definitions
Article 2 provides definitions of certain key concepts used in the proposal.
These includes definitions of concepts such as ‘driving disqualification’, ‘Member State of the
offence’ (where the offence takes place), ‘Member State of issuance’ (which issued the
driving licence) and ‘person concerned’.
The definition of ‘driving disqualification’ encompasses any final decision imposing a driving
disqualification related to the commission of a road traffic offence that results in any measure
of the withdrawal, restriction or suspension of the driving license or right to drive, regardless
of whether it qualifies as a safety measure or a penalty or as an administrative or criminal
sanction. The concepts of withdrawal, restriction and suspension are also defined. The
directive is applicable to a limited number of well-defined ‘major road-safety-related traffic
offences’, namely drink-driving, speeding, driving under the influence of drugs, and
infringing road traffic regulations and causing death or serious bodily injury as a result. It also
defines ‘additional conditions’ as conditions that the person concerned by a driving
disqualification must fulfil in order to recover his or her driving licence or right to drive.
For some concepts, such as ‘major road safety related traffic offences’, ‘power-driven
vehicle’, ‘driving licence’ and ‘normal residence’, cross-references to definitions in other
Union instruments are made.
Article 3: Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications
It establishes the principle that a driving disqualification issued by a Member State to a person
who is not a normal resident in that Member State and who holds a driving license issued by
another Member State should have Union-wide effect.
Article 4: Duty to notify a driving disqualification
The Member State of the offence is required to notify the Member State of issuance of any
driving disqualification of a duration of at least one month. The notification should be done
by means of a standard certificate, transmitted between the national contact points of the two
Member States concerned.
Article 5: Standard certificate and means of transmission
This provision empowers the Commission to adopt an implementing act to establish the
format and content of the standard certificate before the date of transposition of the Directive.
The most important elements that the certificate should contain are listed in this provision.
This article also lays down rules on the languages in which the certificate may be transmitted
and specifies that the certificate should be transmitted via RESPER.
Article 6: Ensuring the Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications

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The Member State of issuance should take the appropriate measures to ensure that the driving
disqualification has Union-wide effect, unless a ground for exemption laid down in Article 8
applies.
In cases where the driving disqualification consists in a withdrawal of the driving licence or
right to drive, the Member State of issuance should withdraw the driving licence. The person
concerned should regain the driving licence or right to drive in accordance with the rules
applicable in that Member State in similar circumstances. That Member State shall also take
into account, as far as possible, any part of the conditions that the person concerned has
already fulfilled in the Member State of offence in order to recover the driving licence or the
right to drive.
In cases where the driving disqualification consists in a suspension or a restriction of the
driving licence or right to drive, the measure taken by the Member State of issuance should be
limited to ensuring that the Union-wide disqualification has the same duration as that imposed
by the Member of offence, irrespective of whether conditions are imposed by that Member
State for the person concerned to recover the driving licence or right to drive.
Article 7: Effects of driving disqualifications in the Member State of the offence
This article clarifies that the Directive and in particular the application of any grounds of
exemption laid down in Article 8 by the Member State of issuance does not prevent the
execution of the driving disqualification imposed by the Member State of the offence within
its territory.
Moreover, it clarifies that when a driving disqualification imposed by that Member State of
the offence includes conditions that the person concerned must comply in order to recover the
driving licence or right to drive, that Member State can continue to apply the disqualification
on its territory until the conditions are complied with.
Article 8: Grounds for exemption
Article 8 lays down an exhaustive list of grounds of exemptions, on which basis the Member
State of issuance must refuse to give Union-wide effect to the disqualification and a list of
additional grounds of exemptions on the basis of which it can refuse to give such Union-wide
effect.
The list includes such grounds of exemption as incompleteness of the certificate; age limit of
the person concerned; immunity or privilege; or the fact that the remaining period of driving
disqualification is of less than one month.
Before invoking any grounds of exemption, the Member State of issuance should consult with
the Member State of offence.
Article 9: Time-limits
This Article establishes that the Member State of issuance must take the measure giving
Union-wide effect to the driving disqualification not later than 15 days after the receipt of the
certificate.

EN

16

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In specific cases where it is not possible for the Member State of issuance to meet the time
limit set for the phase of recognition, it must inform and consult the Member State of offence
but remains obliged to give Union-wide effect to the driving disqualification, without delay.
Article 10: Consultations between the Member States
This article provides Member States should consult each other, via appropriate means and
without delay, to ensure the efficient application of this Directive.
Article 11: Information to be given by the Member State of issuance
This Article provides for obligatory communication of information by the Member State of
issuance to the Member State of the offence on different aspects and steps in the procedure.
Article 12: Information to be given by the Member State of the offence
Under this Article, the Member State of the offence must inform the Member State of
issuance of circumstances that may affect the original decision imposing the driving
disqualification and of the completion of driving disqualification in its territory.
Article 13: Obligation to inform the person concerned
The Member State of issuance must notify the person concerned a decision or measure taken
in relation to the driving disqualification. Specific reference is made to the information to be
shared on legal remedies available under the law of the Member of issuance.
Article 14: Legal remedies
This Article provides that Member States should ensure that adequate legal remedies against
decisions taken pursuant to this Directive are in place. It clarifies that the driving
disqualification that has been notified by the Member State of the offence should only be
challenged in an action brought in the Member State of the offence.
Article 15: National contact points
Member States must establish national contact points. In accordance with Article 4, these
national contact points transmit the certificates. They should also cooperate with the
authorities involved in the enforcement of the driving disqualifications.
Article 16: Statistics
Under this Article, Member States must regularly collect data from the relevant authorities
and maintain comprehensive statistics regarding driving disqualifications. The statistics
collected are to be sent to the Commission each year. Collecting comprehensive data
regarding driving disqualifications is necessary to allow a thorough assessment of the
functioning of the mechanism laid down by this Directive.
Article 17: Committee procedure
This Article establishes the procedure for the adoption of the implementing act referred to in
Article 5.
Article 18: Relationship with other legal acts

EN

17

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This Article establishes that this Directive does not affect the rights and obligations stemming
from Union legislation concerning judicial cooperation and the rights of suspects and accused
persons.
Article 19: Transposition
Member States have to transpose the provisions of the Directive within a given timeframe and
have to notify these national measures to the Commission.
Article 20: Report on the application
A reporting obligation is established and placed on the Commission as regards the
implementation of the proposed directive.
Article 21: Entry into force and application
This is a standard provision stipulating that the Directive is to enter into force on the twentieth
day following its publication in the Official Journal.
Article 22: Addressees
This is a standard provision stipulating that the Directive is addressed to the Member States.

EN

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2023/0055 (COD)
Proposal for a
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
on the Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular
Article 91(1), point (c), thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1,
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions2,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1)

Improving road safety is a primary objective of the Union’s transport policy. In its EU
Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-20303, 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.

(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.

(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.

(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

1

OJ C , , p. .
OJ C , , p. .
SWD(2019)283 final.

2
3

EN

19

EN

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.
(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.

(6)

However, the implementation of this Directive should 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.

(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.

(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 Treaty4, in so far as they are ‘measures to
improve transport safety’ within the meaning of that provision5.

(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.

(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 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, should
also be considered as major offences.

(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

4

OJ C 202, 7.6.2016.
Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 6 May 2014 in Commission v Parliament and Council, C43/12, EU:C:2014:298, paragraph 43.

5

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20

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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].

EN

(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, in order to ensure
a seamless, reliable and effective exchange of information between the Member States.

(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, the major road-safety-related traffic
offence committed, the resulting driving disqualification, 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.

(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.

(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

21

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driving and not to determine how that person should recover her or his right to drive
in the Member State of issuance.

EN

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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 for the adoption of measures granting a Union-wide
effect to driving disqualifications, decisions taken on grounds of exemption, the
completion of the driving disqualifications and for any circumstances affecting the
originally imposed driving disqualifications.

(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 delay, 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.

22

EN

(22)

Member States should ensure that adequate legal remedies against measures taken
pursuant to this Directive are in place, equivalent to those available in similar domestic
cases, and that information about such remedies is provided when those remedies
become applicable, and in due time to ensure that they can be exercised effectively.
However, it should be clarified that the driving disqualification notified in accordance
with Article 4(1) can only be challenged in an action brought in the Member State of
the offence.

(23)

The protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of their personal data is
a fundamental right. In accordance with Article 8(1) of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union6 and Article 16(1) of the Treaty, everyone has the right
to the protection of personal data concerning them. The relevant Union legislation,
namely Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council7 and
Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council 8, should
apply to the processing of personal data in the context of this Directive in accordance
with their respective scope of application.

(24)

This Directive establishes the legal basis for the exchange of personal data for the
purpose of giving effect to driving disqualifications imposed by a Member State, other
than the Member State of issuance. This legal basis is in line with Article 6(1)(c) and,
where applicable, Article 10 of Regulation 2016/679, and Article 8 of Directive
2016/680. The personal data to be exchanged with the Member State of issuance
should be limited to what is necessary to comply with the obligations laid down in this
Directive.

(25)

In order to ensure the seamless, reliable and effective exchange of information, each
Member State should designate a national contact point for the purposes of this
Directive. They should further ensure that their respective national contact points
cooperate with the relevant authorities involved in the enforcement of the driving
disqualifications covered by this Directive, in particular to ensure that all necessary
information is shared in due time.

(26)

Member States should regularly collect comprehensive statistics on the application of
this Directive, and send them to the Commission each year. On the basis of this and
other information, the Commission should evaluate the impact of the implementation
of this Directive on road safety and submit a report on the results of that evaluation to
the European Parliament and to the Council every five years, together, where
appropriate, with legislative proposals for its amendment.

(27)

This Directive should not affect the rights and obligations stemming from other

applicable

6
7

8

EN

Union

legislation,

in

particular

Council

Framework

Decision

OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, p. 391.
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016,
p. 1).
Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for
the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the
execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council
Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).

23

EN

2008/947/JHA9 and Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA10, or the rights of
suspects and accused persons as provided for in Directive 2010/64/EU11, Directive
2012/13/EU12, Directive 2013/48/EU13, Directive (EU) 2016/34314, Directive (EU)
2016/80015 and Directive (EU) 2016/1919 of the European Parliament and of the
Council16.
(28)

Member States should be able to conclude bilateral or multilateral agreements or
arrangements with other Member States, in order to supplement and facilitate the
system established by this Directive. They should only do so, however, in so far as
such agreements or arrangements allow the provisions of this Directive to be extended
or enlarged and help simplify or facilitate further the procedures for granting Unionwide effect to driving disqualifications, and therefore insofar as they allow for a higher
level of road safety.

(29)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Directive,
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to establish the format
and content of the standard certificate for notifying a driving disqualification. Those
powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the
European Parliament and of the Council17.

(30)

Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to ensure the Union-wide effect of
decisions imposing driving disqualifications which result from major road-safetyrelated traffic offences, with the goal to improve the levels of road safety across the
Union, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason
of the scale and effects of this Directive, be better achieved at Union level, the Union
may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in
Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union18. In accordance with the principle of
proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is
necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

9

Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA of 27 November 2008 on the application of the principle
of mutual recognition to judgments and probation decisions with a view to the supervision of probation
measures and alternative sanctions (OJ L 337, 16.12.2008, p. 102).
Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA of 24 February 2005 on the application of the principle of
mutual recognition to financial penalties (OJ L 76, 22.3.2005, p. 16).
Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to
interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings (OJ L 280, 26.10.2010, p. 1).
Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to
information in criminal proceedings (OJ L 142, 1.6.2012, p. 1).
Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on the right of
access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right
to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and
with consular authorities while deprived of liberty (OJ L 294, 6.11.2013, p. 1).
Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the
strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the
trial in criminal proceedings (OJ L 65, 11.3.2016, p. 1).
Directive (EU) 2016/800 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on procedural
safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings (OJ L 132,
21.5.2016, p. 1).
Directive (EU) 2016/1919 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on legal
aid for suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings and for requested persons in European
arrest warrant proceedings (OJ L 297, 4.11.2016, p. 1).
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011
laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of
the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers, OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13
OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, p. 13.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

EN

24

EN

(31)

The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article
42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council19
and delivered an opinion on [DD/MM/YYYY],

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
Objective and subject-matter
This Directive aims to ensure a high level of protection for all road users in the Union. For
this purpose, it lays down rules providing for a Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications
for major road-safety-related traffic offences committed in a Member State other than the one
that issued the driving licence of the person concerned.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:

EN

(1)

‘driving disqualification’ means any decision related to the commission of a major
road-safety-related traffic offence, which results in the withdrawal, restriction or
suspension of the driving licence or the right to drive of a driver of a power-driven
vehicle, which is no longer subject to a right of appeal, irrespective of whether it
constitutes a primary, secondary or supplementary penalty or a safety measure and
irrespective of whether it is qualified as an administrative or criminal measure;

(2)

‘withdrawal’ means the revocation of the driving licence or the right to drive or of
their recognition;

(3)

‘suspension’ means the temporary limitation of the validity of the driving license or
of the right to drive or of their recognition, for a fixed amount of time, or for both a
combination of a fixed amount of time and the fulfilment of additional conditions;

(4)

‘restriction’ means the partial limitation of the validity of the driving license or of the
right to drive or of their recognition, either for a fixed period of time, or subject to
the fulfillment of additional conditions, or pursuant to a combination of both;

(5)

‘additional conditions’ means conditions other than the lapse of a fixed period of
time that a person concerned by a driving disqualification must comply with in order
to recover his or her right to drive or driving licence;

(6)

‘Member State of the offence’ means the Member State in which a driving
disqualification was delivered;

(7)

‘Member State of issuance’ means the Member State that issued the driving licence
of the person concerned, and to which a driving disqualification is transmitted in
accordance with the provisions of this Directive;

19

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39

25

EN

(8)

‘power-driven vehicle’ means a power-driven vehicle as defined in Article 2, point
(4) of [NEW DIRECTIVE ON DRIVING LICENCES];

(9)

‘driving licence’ means a driving licence as defined in Article 2, point (1) of [NEW
DIRECTIVE ON DRIVING LICENCES];

(10)

‘person concerned’ means the natural person against whom a driving disqualification
is issued;

(11)

‘major road-safety-related traffic offence’ means:

(12)

(a)

drink-driving as defined in Article 3, point (g), of Directive (EU) 2015/413 of
the European Parliament and of the Council20;

(b)

speeding as defined in Article 3, point (d), of Directive (EU) 2015/413;

(c)

driving under the influence of drugs as defined in Article 3, point (h), of
Directive (EU) 2015/413;

(d)

a conduct which infringes road traffic regulations, and which caused death or
serious bodily injury;

‘normal residence’ means normal residence in accordance with Article 17 of [NEW
DIRECTIVE ON DRIVING LICENCES].
Article 3
Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications

Member States shall ensure that a driving disqualification issued by a Member State with
respect to a person who does not have its normal residence in that Member State and who
holds a driving licence issued by another Member State shall have effect across the entire
territory of the Union in accordance with this Directive.
Article 4
Duty to notify a driving disqualification

EN

1.

The Member State of the offence shall notify the Member State of issuance of any
driving disqualification imposed for a duration of one month or more on a person
who does not have its normal residence in the Member State of the offence and who
holds a driving licence issued by the Member State of issuance.

2.

The notification referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made by means of a standard
certificate as provided for in Article 5 and in accordance with the procedure set out in
paragraph 3.

3.

The national contact point of the Member State of the offence shall complete, sign
and transmit the certificate directly to the national contact point of the Member State
of issuance, which shall forward it to the authority competent for ensuring the Unionwide effect of the driving disqualification. The driving licence of the person
concerned, when it has been seized, and the original decision imposing the driving

20

Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating
cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences Text with EEA relevance
(OJ L 68, 13.3.2015, p. 9).

26

EN

disqualification or a certified copy thereof shall also be forwarded to the national
contact point of the Member State of issuance by the national contact point of the
Member State of the offence. There shall be no obligation for the Member State of
the offence to translate the original decision or its certified copy.

Article 5
Standard certificate and means of transmission
1.

Before [the date of transposition set out in Article 19], the Commission shall, by way
of an implementing act, establish the format and content of the standard certificate
for the notification of a driving disqualification. That implementing act shall be
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17(2).

2.

The certificate shall contain the following information:
(a)

information about the authority that imposed the driving disqualification in the
Member State of the offence;

(b)

the description of the major road-safety-related traffic offence and the facts
leading to the imposition of the driving disqualification;

(c)

the name and address of the person concerned, and the number of the driving
licence, and if necessary, of the national identification documents of the person
concerned, where available;

(d)

the applicable legal provisions of the Member State of the offence;

(e)

the procedures followed and the precise scope and content of the driving
disqualification, including, if applicable, the date on which the suspension or
the restriction ceases to have effect, and any additional conditions set by the
Member States of the offence;

(f)

the period (in days) of the driving disqualification imposed by the Member
State of the offence, which has already been served in that Member State,
where applicable.

3.

The Member State of the offence shall provide the Member State of issuance with a
translation of the certificate in an official language of the Member State of issuance
or in any other language that the Member State of issuance has accepted in
accordance with paragraph 4.

4.

Any Member State may, at any time, state in a declaration notified to the
Commission that it will accept translations of certificates in one or more official
languages of the Union other than the official language or languages of that Member
State. Such declaration can be withdrawn at any time. The Commission shall make
the declarations and any withdrawals thereof available to all Member States.

5.

The national contact point of the Member State of the offence shall transmit the
certificate to the national contact point of the Member State of issuance through the
EU driving licence network referred to in Article 19(1) of [NEW DIRECTIVE ON
DRIVING LICENCES] (‘RESPER’).
Article 6

EN

27

EN

Ensuring the Union-wide effect of driving disqualifications
1.

Upon the notification of a driving disqualification in accordance with Article 4(1)
and unless a ground for exemption laid down in Article 8 applies, the Member State
of issuance shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that the driving
disqualification has Union-wide effect.

2.

Where the driving disqualification consists in a withdrawal, the measures taken by
the Member State of issuance shall comply with the following conditions:

3.

4.

(a)

the Member State of issuance shall withdraw the driving licence or the right to
drive of the person concerned;

(b)

the person concerned may recover the driving licence or the right to drive in
accordance with the national rules of the Member State of issuance;

(c)

the Member State of issuance shall take into account as far as possible any part
of the additional conditions with which the person concerned shall comply in
order to recover the right to drive that have been already fulfilled in the
Member State of the offence.

Where the driving disqualification consists in a suspension or a restriction, the
measures taken by the Member State of issuance shall comply with the following
conditions:
(a)

the Member State of issuance shall suspend or restrict the validity of the
driving licence or the right to drive of the person concerned until the date on
which the suspension or the restriction imposed and notified by the Member
State of the offence ceases to have effects;

(b)

where the suspension or the restriction imposed and notified by the Member
State of the offence is subject both to the lapse of a fixed amount of time and
the fulfilment of additional conditions, the Member State of issuance shall take
into account only the fixed period of time;

(c)

where a restriction is imposed and notified by the Member State of the offence,
it shall be taken into account insofar as compatible with the law of the Member
State of issuance in terms of its nature or duration.

Without prejudice to the ground for exemption laid down in Article 8(1), point (a),
when adopting measures under this Article, the Member State of issuance shall be
bound by and rely on the information and facts provided by the Member State of the
offence in accordance with Article 5.
Article 7
Effects of driving disqualifications in the Member State of the offence

EN

1.

This Directive shall not prevent the Member State of the offence from executing the
driving disqualification within its territory and in accordance with its national rules.

2.

Where a driving disqualification containing additional conditions has been notified to
the Member State of issuance in accordance with Article 4(1), the Member State of
the offence may continue to apply such driving disqualification within its territory
until the person concerned complies with those conditions.

28

EN

3.

However, additional conditions attached to a driving disqualification notified in
accordance with Article 4(1) shall be deemed to be fulfilled by the Member State of
the offence where the Member State of issuance has positively assessed that the
person concerned fulfills the conditions applicable in the Member State of issuance
for recovering the right to drive or the driving licence or to be able to apply for a new
one.
Article 8
Grounds for exemption

1.

The Member State of issuance shall not take the measures referred to in Article 6(1)
where:
(a)

the certificate referred to in Article 5 is incomplete or manifestly incorrect and
the missing or the correct information has not been provided in accordance
with paragraph 3, of this Article;

(b)

the driving disqualification has already been fully executed in the Member
State of the offence;

(c)

the driving disqualification is statute-barred in accordance with the law of the
Member State of issuance;

(d)

there is a privilege or immunity under the law of the Member State of issuance
that prevents the execution of the driving disqualification;

(e)

at the moment of adopting the measures, referred to in Article 6(3), the
remaining period of the suspension or of the restriction to be served pursuant to
the driving disqualification is less than one month;

(f)

judicial proceedings took place and according to the certificate the person
concerned did not appear in person at the trial that resulted in the adoption of
the driving disqualification, unless the certificate states that, in accordance with
further procedural requirements defined in the law of the Member State of the
offence, either of the following circumstances have occurred:
(i) the person concerned was summoned in person in due time and was thereby
informed of the scheduled date and place of the trial that resulted in the driving
disqualification, or actually received, by other means, official information of
the scheduled date and place of that trial in such a manner that it was
established unequivocally that that person was aware of the scheduled trial, and
was informed in due time that such a driving disqualification could be handed
down if that person did not appear at the trial;
(ii) being aware of the scheduled trial, the person concerned had given a
mandate to a lawyer, who was either appointed by the person concerned or by
the State, to defend that person at the trial and was actually defended by that
lawyer at the trial; or
(iii) after having been served with the driving disqualification and having been
expressly informed of the right to a retrial or an appeal, in which the person
concerned would have the right to participate and which would allow a reexamination of the merits of the case including an examination of fresh
evidence, and which could lead to the original driving disqualification being
reversed, that person expressly stated that he or she did not contest the driving

EN

29

EN

disqualification, or did not request a retrial or appeal within the applicable time
limits;
(g)

2.

3.

in exceptional situations, there are substantial grounds to believe, on the basis
of specific and objective evidence, that the execution of the driving
disqualification would, in the particular circumstances of the case, entail a
breach of a fundamental right as set out in the Charter.

The Member State of issuance may decide to apply also the following grounds of
exemption:
(a)

the driving disqualification relates to a major road-safety-related traffic offence
that, on the basis of the information notified under Article 4(1), would not be
sanctioned with a driving disqualification under the law of the Member State of
issuance;

(b)

the driving disqualification was imposed only on grounds of speeding and the
speed limits in force in the Member State of the offence were exceeded by less
than 50 km/h;

(c)

under the law of the Member State of issuance, the person concerned cannot,
due to his or her age, be held liable for the major road-safety-related traffic
offence in respect of which the driving disqualification was issued.

Whenever the Member State of issuance intends to apply in a specific case a ground
for exemption pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2, it shall inform without delay the Member
State of the offence and, where applicable, request any necessary information for the
purpose of examining whether a ground for exemption referred to therein applies.
The Member State of the offence shall provide the requested information without
delay and may provide any additional information or comment it deems relevant.
Information provided under this paragraph shall not include personal data other than
those strictly necessary for the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 and shall be used
for the sole purpose of applying those paragraphs.

Article 9
Time-limits

EN

1.

The Member State of issuance shall take the measures referred to in Article 6 (1) or
adopt the decision that a ground of exemption pursuant to Article 8 applies without
delay and, without prejudice to paragraph 3, no later than 15 days after it received the
certificate in accordance with Article 5(1).

2.

The national contact point of the Member State of issuance shall communicate
without delay the measures taken under Article 6(1) or the decision that a ground of
exemption applies pursuant to Article 8 to the national contact point of the Member
State of the offence through RESPER.

3.

Where it is not possible, in a specific case, to meet the time-limit set out in paragraph
1, the national contact point of the Member State of issuance shall inform the
national contact point of the Member State of the offence without delay by any
means, giving the reasons for which it was not possible to meet that time-limit.

30

EN

The expiry of the time-limit set in paragraph 1 shall not relieve the Member State of
issuance of its obligation to take the measures referred to in Article 6(1) without
delay.

Article 10
Consultations between the Member States
Where necessary, Member States shall consult each other, via appropriate means and without
delay, to ensure the effective application of this Directive.
Article 11
Information to be given by the Member State of issuance
The national contact point of the Member State of issuance shall without delay inform the
national contact point of the Member State the offence:
(a)

of the reception of the notification of the driving disqualification, in accordance
with Article 4(1);

(b)

of the measures taken under Article 6, once they have become legally binding;

(c)

of any decision that a ground of exemption pursuant to Article 8 applies
together with the reasons for the decision;

(d)

of any measure suspending or terminating the Union-wide effect of the driving
disqualification and the underlying reasons, including on account of the
successful challenge by the person concerned.

Article 12
Information to be given by the Member State of the offence
The national contact point of the Member State of the offence shall without delay inform the
national contact point of the Member State issuance:
(a)

any circumstance that affects the decision that imposed the driving
disqualification;

(b)

of the execution of the driving disqualification in the Member State of the
offence.

Article 13
Obligation to inform the person concerned

EN

1.

Following both the reception of the notification under Article 4(1) and the adoption
of measures under Article 6(1), respectively, the Member State of issuance shall
inform the person concerned without delay, in accordance with procedures under its
national law.

2.

The information to be provided in accordance with paragraph 1 shall at least specify:

31

EN

(a)

when the information is given following the reception of the notification under
Article 4(1):
(i) the name of the authorities competent for the enforcement of the driving
disqualification of both the Member State of issuance and the Member State of
the offence; and
(ii) legal remedies available under the law of the Member State of issuance,
including the right to be heard;

(b)

when the information is given following the adoption of measures taken under
Article 6(1):
(i) the details of the measures taken by the Member State of issuance;
(ii) legal remedies available under the law of the Member State of issuance to
challenge the measures taken.
Article 14
Legal remedies

1.

Member States shall ensure adequate legal remedies against decisions or measures
taken pursuant to this Directive, equivalent to those available in similar domestic
cases. They shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that information about such
remedies is provided in due time to ensure that they can be exercised effectively.

2.

A driving disqualification notified under Article 4(1) may be challenged only in an
action brought in the Member State of the offence.

3.

The Member State of the offence and the Member State of issuance shall inform each
other about the legal remedies sought against decisions or measures taken pursuant to
this Directive.

Article 15
National contact points
1.

By [date of transposition of this Directive], each Member State shall designate a
national contact point for the purposes of this Directive.

2.

Member States shall ensure that their respective national contact points cooperate
with the authorities competent for the enforcement of the driving disqualifications
imposed for the commission of major road-safety-related traffic offences, in
particular in order to ensure that all necessary information is shared in due time, and
that the time-limits laid down in Article 9 are complied with.

3.

Member States shall inform the Commission of the national contact points
designated for the purposes of this Directive. The Commission shall make the
information received under this Article available to all Member States on its website.

Article 16
Statistics
Member States shall regularly collect comprehensive statistics on the application of this
Directive and shall send them to the Commission each year. Those statistics shall include:

EN

32

EN

(a)

the number of notifications made under Article 4(1), separated by Member
State addressed;

(b)

the number of times a ground for exemption was invoked, including the
grounds for exemption applied, separated by notifying Member State;

(c)

the time needed to transmit information on the decision on a ground of
exemption;

(d)

the number of legal remedies that have been lodged against measures taken
under Article 6(1).
Article 17
Committee procedure

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by the committee on driving licences established
by Article 22 of [NEW DIRECTIVE ON DRIVING LICENCES]. That committee
shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No
182/2011 shall apply.
Where the opinion of the committee is to be obtained by written procedure, that
procedure shall be terminated without result when, within the time limit for delivery
of the opinion, the chair of the committee so decides or a simple majority of
committee members so request.
Where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the
implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No
182/2011 shall apply.
Article 18
Relationship with other legal acts

1.

2.

This Directive shall not affect the rights and obligations stemming from the
following legal acts:
(a)

Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA;

(b)

Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA;

(c)

the rights of suspects and accused persons as provided for in Directive
2010/64/EU, Directive 2012/13/EU, Directive 2013/48/EU, Directive (EU)
2016/343, Directive (EU) 2016/800 and Directive (EU) 2016/1919 of the
European Parliament and of the Council.

Member States may conclude bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements
with other Member States after [DD/MM/YYYY], in so far as such agreements or
arrangements allow the provisions of this Directive to be extended and help to
simplify or facilitate further the procedures for the enforcement of driving
disqualifications imposed for the commission of offences in a Member State other
than the one that issued the driving licence of the person concerned.
Article 19

EN

33

EN

Transposition
1.

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [DD/MM/YYYY]. They shall
forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.
When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this
Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their
official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

2.

By [DD/MM/YYYY], Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text
of the main provisions of their national law which they adopt in the field covered by
this Directive.
Article 20
Report on the application

By [entry into force + 5 years], and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall present
a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of this Directive,
including its impact on road safety. The report shall be accompanied, if necessary, by
proposals for amendments to this Directive.
Article 21
Entry into force and application
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in
the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 22
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

EN

For the Council
The President

34

EN