What changed between the draft committee report of 4 Sept 2023 and the draft committee report of 6 Oct 2025

Added:SHORT JUSTIFICATION

Removed:Recital 13: (13) The standard certificate should contain a minimum set of data allowing for the proper implementation of this Directive, namely the authority of the Member State of the offence imposing the driving disqualification, a description of the major road-safety-related traffic offence committed, the resulting driving disqualification, details identifying the person concerned, and the procedures followed for the imposition of the disqualification. Such certificate should also be translated into an official language of the Member State of issuance or to any other language that the Member State of issuance has accepted, in order to ensure quick processing by the addressee. Through providing only for this information the standard certificate can guarantee effectiveness without obliging Member States to share not proportionate or excessive amounts of information.

Added:The Council position at first reading reflects the agreement reached between Parliament and the Council in interinstitutional negotiations at early second-reading stage. The agreed text has been the result of smooth negotiations where the co-legislators have reached a satisfactory compromise text aiming to establish for the first time in EU legislation a system for communication, information sharing and recognition of driving disqualifications across the Union when applied for a limited range of major driving offences, such as drink or drug driving, excessive speeding or driving which causes death or serious bodily injury. The adopted provisions will curtail the current wide-spread in the Union impunity for drivers committing major offences outside of the Member State that issued their driving licence and thus improve the level of safety on Union roads.

Removed:Recital 20: (20) The proper implementation of this Directive presupposes close, swift and effective communication between the competent national authorities involved. The competent national authorities of the Member States should therefore consult each other whenever necessary. Moreover, in specific well-defined cases, both the Member State of issuance and Member State of offence should provide each other with important information in relation to the application of this Directive without delay, and no later than seven working days following a decision on the adoption of measures granting a Union-wide effect to driving disqualifications, as well as of decisions taken on grounds of exemption, the completion of the driving disqualifications and for any circumstances affecting the originally imposed driving disqualifications.

Removed:The timeframes for important stages in the procedure of granting Union-wide effect to certain disqualifications are missing and should be more narrowly defined in order to ensure the adequate execution of each stage and consequently the effectiveness of the entire procedure

Removed:Recital 21: (21) After being notified of a driving disqualification and granting it Union-wide effects, the Member State of issuance should inform the person concerned without delay, and no later than seven working days following the notification of a driving disqualification, in order to allow the exercise of fundamental rights such as the right to be heard and to challenge the decisions before the competent national courts and tribunals.

Removed:Recital 25: (25) In order to ensure the seamless, reliable and effective exchange of information via RESPER, each Member State should designate a national contact point for the purposes of this Directive. They should further ensure that their respective national contact points cooperate with the relevant authorities involved in the enforcement of the driving disqualifications covered by this Directive, in particular to ensure that all necessary information is shared in due time.

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3: (3) ‘suspension’ means the temporary limitation of the validity of the driving license or of the right to drive or of their recognition, for a fixed period, or for both a combination of a fixed period and the fulfilment of additional conditions;

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6: (6) ‘Member State of the offence’ means the Member State within the territory of which the road traffic offence that has given rise to a driving disqualification was committed and in which that driving disqualification was delivered;

Removed:Definition aligned to the one used in the Convention 98/C 216/01 on Driving Disqualifications, OJ C 216 of 10.07.1998

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 1: 1. The Member State of the offence shall notify the Member State of issuance without delay, and no later than seven working days following any decision that it takes to impose a driving disqualification for a duration of one month or more on a person who does not have its normal residence in the Member State of the offence and who holds a driving licence issued by the Member State of issuance.

Removed:Article 4 – paragraph 3: 3. The national contact point of the Member State of the offence shall complete, sign and transmit the certificate directly to the national contact point of the Member State of issuance, which shall forward it to the authority competent for ensuring the Union-wide effect of the driving disqualification. The driving licence of the person concerned, in the event that it has been seized, and the original decision imposing the driving disqualification or a certified copy thereof shall also be forwarded to the national contact point of the Member State of issuance by the national contact point of the Member State of the offence. There shall be no obligation for the Member State of the offence to translate the original decision or its certified copy.

Removed:Amendment intended to clarify that not all disqualifications result in the license being physically seized from the offender

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point c: (c) the name and address of the person concerned and the number of his or her driving licence and national identification documents;

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. RESPER shall be used for the transmission of any information between the Member State of the offence and the Member State of issuance required under this Directive.

Removed:This provision is to ensure legal certainty as to how information (be it notifications, additional documentations provided, etc) is to be exchanged between the two sides.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Where the driving disqualification results in a withdrawal, the measures taken by the Member State of issuance shall be the following:

Removed:These points a)-c) are not really conditions

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b: deleted

Removed:This point should come as a new subparagraph as it does not fit in the list of measures to be taken by the Member state of issuance

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new): The person concerned may recover the driving licence or the right to drive in accordance with the national rules of the Member State of issuance.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 3 – introductory part: 3. Where the driving disqualification results in a suspension or a restriction, the measures taken by the Member State of issuance shall be the following:

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) where the suspension or the restriction imposed and notified by the Member State of the offence is subject both to the lapse of a fixed period and the fulfilment of additional conditions, the Member State of issuance shall take into account only the fixed period;

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. The Member State of issuance shall aim to ensure that the measures taken pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 with regard to driving disqualifications have the same or comparable duration as the correspondent measures imposed by the Member State of the offence.

Removed:Article 7 – paragraph 3: 3. However, additional conditions attached to a driving disqualification notified in accordance with Article 4(1) shall be deemed to be fulfilled by the Member State of the offence where the Member State of issuance has positively assessed that the person concerned has fulfilled the conditions applicable in the Member State of issuance for recovering the right to drive or the driving licence or to be able to apply for a new one. In such case, the Member State of the offence shall be bound by the positive assessment of the Member State of issuance and its effects. The Member State of the offence shall therefore no longer apply the additional conditions. However, the Member State of the offence may continue to apply the driving disqualification on its territory until the end of its duration.

Removed:Clarification to ensure that in withdrawal cases where the Member State of issuance has imposed also some additional conditions and these have eventually been assessed as fulfilled, the Member State of the offence can only continue to apply the disqualification for the originally set duration but not to require the fulfilment of the additional conditions

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) the driving 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 30km/h in the case of urban roads and by less than 50 km/h in the case of non-urban roads;

Removed:It has to be differentiated for urban and non-urban speed limits as 50 km/h is too high for lower urban speed limits

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 2: 2. The national contact point of the Member State of issuance shall communicate without delay, and no later than seven working days from the adoption of the measures taken under Article 6(1) or of the decision that a ground of exemption applies pursuant to Article 8 to the national contact point of the Member State of the offence through RESPER.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: Where it is not possible, in a specific case, to meet the time-limit set out in paragraph 1, the national contact point of the Member State of issuance shall inform via RESPER the national contact point of the Member State of the offence without delay, and no later than seven working days after the expiry of the time-limit set out in paragraph 1, giving the reasons for which it was not possible to meet that time-limit.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 1: Where necessary, Member States shall consult each other in a timely manner in order to ensure the effective application of this Directive.

Removed:Amendment linked to a new provision under Article 5 ensuring that only RESPER is used for the transmission of any information and documents related to disqualification falling under this Directive

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: The national contact point of the Member State of issuance shall inform the national contact point of the Member State of the offence without delay, and no later than seven working days following the adoption:

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) any circumstance that affects the decision that imposed the driving disqualification, including any relevant information with regard to any fulfilment that has already taken place in the Member State of the offence of any additional conditions imposed in relation to a driving disqualification;

Removed:This is related to Article 6(1)(c) where the Member State of issuance should take such information into consideration, but nowhere is spelled out where the information is to come from, hence this addition to Article 12 regarding info to be provided by Member State of offence, if the info exists

Removed:Article 13 – paragraph 1: 1. Following both the reception of the notification under Article 4(1) and the adoption of measures under Article 6(1), respectively, the Member State of issuance shall inform the person concerned without delay, and no later than seven working days following the reception of the notification under Article 4(1) or the adoption of measures under Article 6(1), in accordance with procedures under its national law.

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that their respective national contact points cooperate with the authorities competent for the enforcement of the driving disqualifications imposed for the commission of major road-safety-related traffic offences, in particular in order to ensure that all necessary information is shared in due time, and that the time-limits laid down in this Directive are complied with.

Removed:Additional time limits have been set up in other articles than just article 9

Removed:Article 15 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the national contact points designated for the purposes of this Directive. The Commission shall make the information received under this Article available to all Member States via RESPER and its website.

Removed:Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) the time needed to transmit information for each decision taken on a ground of exemption;

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by ... [date of entry into force of this Directive + 1 year]. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

Removed:The transposition date needs to be defined

Removed:Article 19 – paragraph 2: 2. By … [date of entry into force of this Directive + 15 months], Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of their national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Removed:Article 20 – title: Review

Removed:Article 20 – paragraph 1: By ... [date of entry into force of this Directive + 5 years], and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Directive, including its impact on road safety. The report shall be accompanied, if necessary, by a legislative proposal to amend this Directive.

Removed:Article 21 – title: Entry into force

Removed:Application is not needed in the title of the article as there are no special provisions that required divergent date of application