Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union are meeting on the evening of Tuesday 25 March to try to bring discussions on driving disqualifications to a successful conclusion.
Following the agreement on the revision of the driving licence (see EUROPE 13606/5) (see other news), they can now finalise this related dossier and, consequently, the entire ‘road safety’ package (see EUROPE 13539/5). Some of the provisions of this text do indeed have an impact on the text that aims to put an end to the relative impunity that major road offenders often enjoy in Europe.
According to a European source contacted by Agence Europe ahead of the meeting, the negotiators were going to discuss the possibility for a Member State that has granted a driving licence to an individual, to impose additional measures to those sanctions already imposed in the Member State where the offence was committed.
This covers a range of serious offences that can result in a loss of driving licence. The European Parliament wants to add driving while disqualified to the list of offences.
Also under discussion was whether or not the text should include a distinction between urban and rural areas for speeding offences. In its general approach, the EU Council had added to the list of derogations the ground that “the 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 30 km/h on an urban road, and by less than 50 km/h on a non-urban road”.
Similarly, the EU Council has also added to the list of derogations the ground that “there is a privilege or immunity under the law of the Member State of issuance that prevents the execution of the driving disqualification”, which the European Parliament had withdrawn from its negotiating position (see EUROPE 13360/9).
Finally, they note the transposition deadlines. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)