Press Release

14/12/2006

A uniform European driving license for more mobility and better road safety. Mathieu Grosch MEP

The European Parliament clears the way for a European driving license. MEPs adopted a new community directive on driving licenses, on which a compromise was reached with the Commission and Council earlier this year. From 2013 onwards, the European driving license, which will resemble a credit card, will gradually replace all national driving licenses.

Rapporteur Mathieu Grosch (EPP-ED, BE) welcomes the fact that Parliament gave the go ahead and calls on Member States to implement the directive as soon as possible: "It took a very long time to bring about the European driving license, but we now have a workable compromise that provides a perfect balance between rules that will improve road safety and respect for national traditions. I now urge the Member States to transpose the directive quickly and correctly into their national legislations and hope that existing driving licenses will be replaced a lot sooner than the maximum transition period of twenty years."

The new licenses will have a limited administrative validity of ten years, which Member States are free to increase to up to fifteen years. For trucks and buses the license is valid for five years. Mathieu Grosch: "A limited validity will guarantee that the data and photo on the license are always up to date. This will make identification and controls easier, which will lead to improved road safety."

The uniform European driving license will also ensure that fraud, such as "driving license tourism", is ruled out: banned drivers will no longer be able to obtain a new license in another Member State or allowed to use their vehicles.

The new directive will harmonise the existing categories of licenses. For motorcycles a "step-up approach" will become obligatory in all Member States. Mathieu Grosch: "Motorcycles are the only category of road users where the number of fatal accidents rises every year. To improve road safety we opted for a step-by-step access to heavier motorcycles. Drivers who are younger than 24 are required to gain two years of experience on smaller motorcycles before moving on to more powerful machines.*"

Owners of a category B driving license will be allowed to tow a trailer or caravan, provided the total mass car-trailer is not more than 3500 kg or, after additional training, 4250 kg. Mathieu Grosch: "Originally, the European Commission required a double license (B and E) to be allowed to drive combinations with trailers. In Parliament we found these requirements were not justified by statistics of road accidents. Parliament's counter proposal offers a better balance between road safety on the one hand and respect for the wishes of drivers and the tourism and economic sector on the other."

Mathieu Grosch concludes: "This directive provides a single logical and modern system of driving licenses for the entire EU. The European driving license will contribute to more road safety and will enhance mobility within the EU."

For more information:
Mathieu Grosch MEP, tel.: +33 3 88175229
EPP-ED Press service, Greet Gysen, tel.: +32 497 028054

Annexes:
Overview of the different categories
Questions and answers with regard to the new directive