Brussels, 08/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The disappearance of different kinds of driving licence is underway. By the end of the month, the European driving licence is expected to see the light of day in a credit-card style, with a view to gradually replacing the hundreds of different paper or plastic driving licences currently used in the EU. No fewer than 300 million drivers will be affected by the measure.
The Council endorsed the harmonisation of driving licences in 2006 with the third driving licence directive (EC 2006/126) but the new card will not become effective until 19 January 2013. The European driving licence in its credit-card style will carry a photo of the driver. National governments may also opt to include a microchip, making the new driving licence almost impossible to falsify. This is essential as the main interest of the harmonised European driving licence is to better tackle fraud. The current fragmentation of driving licences makes “driving licence tourism” all too easy, as a driver prosecuted in one member state can obtain a licence in another member state. That, too, is why the European driving licence will be accompanied by a pan-European system of electronic data exchange to facilitate the work of public administrations. This will apply when persons change residence from one member state to another. (MD/transl.jl)