Brussels, 11/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - An agreement has been swiftly obtained on the revision of the legal basis for the directive on exchanging cross-border data on drivers who have committed road traffic offences in other member states (2014/0218). During a single round of inter-institutional negotiations between the Parliament-Council-Commission on Thursday 11 December, negotiators reached an agreement to back the recommendations from the European Court of Justice (EUROPE 11172). Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom will also be obliged to transpose this directive, which has already been applied in 20 member states.
Legal basis. Last May, the European Court of Justice was asked to look at this case by the European Commission. The Court rejected the legal basis of the “judicial cooperation” in this directive and recommended the adoption of a new legal basis for transport by May 2015. The European Commission was eager to present a revision of the text in this connection, without changing the substance (exchange of data between member states on foreign drivers who have committed road traffic offences on their respective territory, such as speeding or failing to respect traffic lights). The Parliament and Council supported this new legal basis, which automatically makes the Danish, Irish and United Kingdom opt-outs obsolete. These three countries will therefore be obliged to exchange information on their drivers who have contravened the road safety code in other member states, by 2017. The Council and the European Parliament still have to formally endorse this agreement (at Coreper on 17 December).
Vote in favour. Ines Ayala Sender (S&D Spain), European Parliament rapporteur on the subject, was delighted with this agreement adopted without too much trouble and pointed out that the directive had, “already proved to be a very effective first step instrument in countering impunity on the EU roads” . The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL) were also delighted with this agreement getting adopted so soon, in less than five months. This EU-wide adoption of this proposal should also lead to more efficient implementation of the proposal, according to TISPOL, because at the current time, one in five drivers can avoid prosecution because their vehicle is registered in another member state. (MD)