Commission seeks views on revision of EU driving licences and cross-border enforcement legislation

The European Commission has launched two road safety public consultations and is inviting citizens and other interested parties to express their views on several aspects of the following:

• Future rules for driving licences, and
• Cross-border enforcement of traffic rules

For driving licences, these include driver training and probation periods; the introduction of digital driving licences; and the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications. On cross-border enforcement, they include mutual assistance and recognition procedures for cross-border investigations of road-safety-related traffic offences and cross-border enforcement of penalties; and improving regulatory reporting and monitoring.

Forthcoming legislation in these two areas aims to improve road safety in the EU, in line with the EU’s commitment to halving the number of road fatalities by 2030. The legislation will also facilitate the free movement of people within the EU, and accelerate digitalisation of the sector. The revisions of the current legislation are among actions set out in the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. 

The public consultations will feed into the ongoing work on impact assessments for the two initiatives, and help the Commission identify potential measures for incorporation in the legislative proposals. The consultations will run until 20 May 2022.

To contribute to the consultation on Future rules for driving licences, a questionnaire can be found here.

To contribute to the consultation on Cross-border enforcement of traffic rules, the questionnaire can be found here.

European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, said: "A wider harmonisation of driving licensing rules is key to ensure safer roads across the EU. Training is an important aspect, especially for novice drivers and to embrace new technologies that can promote road safety even further. There have indeed been many evolutions in road design, vehicle features and there are simply more people on the road, making driving more challenging. Digital driving licences can become an important step facilitating the free movement of people. However, we will also need to ensure that road safety rules are respected in the whole EU, that drivers in cross-border traffic respect road legislation when driving in another Member State. I count on industry, civil society, academia, and public authorities to help us identify the challenges and solutions that can support our efforts to make the EU roads safer."