Brussels, 18/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Commission adopted a "recommendation" recommending limiting the maximum level of alcohol intake allowed behind the wheel in the European Union and for the population as a whole to 0.5mg/ml, and 0.2 mg/ml for inexperienced drivers and professional drivers. This recommendation, moreover, suggests more frequent on-the-spot controls.
As we stand, the united Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg have a legal limit of 0.8 mg/ml. The United Kingdom is, however, one of the Member states, along with Sweden, where there are the fewest accidents due to alcohol, thanks to stricter penalties. The Commission also stresses in its communiqué the need for more effective implementation of limits set by Member States.
Less binding still than a "Council Recommendation", this "Commission recommendation" has especially the value of a political message, given that there was no agreement on the draft directive on alcohol intake behind the wheel that the Commission proposed in 1988 and which was rejected by a majority of Member States in the name of subsidiarity (see EUROPE of 13 January, p.12).
The MEPs who, on Thursday adopted a resolution demanding a binding text, were angry at the publication of a recommendation on the very day they held their debate. The Commissioner for Transport, Loyola de Palacio, assured them that it was a coincidence and not some kind of "plot".