Considerations on COM(2023)127 - Driving licences - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2023)127 - Driving licences. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2023)127  |
| date | March 1, 2023 |
(2) The current framework, should be updated to be fit for the new era, sustainable, inclusive, smart and resilient. It should take into account the need to reduce emissions from transport, digitalisation, the demographic trends and technological developments to reinforce the competitiveness of the European Economy. It is important to simplify and digitise administrative procedures, in order to remove the remaining barriers, such as administrative burdens, to the free movement of the drivers taking up residence in a Member State other than the one issuing the licence. A harmonized Union standard driving licence framework should encompass both physical and mobile driving licences, and provide for their mutual recognition, where they were duly issued in accordance with this Directive.
(3) The European Union has introduced the first “Community model” physical driving licence on 4 December 1980. Since then the rules relating to such a Community model has become the cornerstone of the most advanced licencing structures in the world, covering more than 250 million drivers. This Directive should therefore build on the accumulated experience and practice and lay down harmonized rules on the Union standards of physical driving licences. The physical driving licences issued with the Union should, in particular, provide for a high level of anti-forgery measures and the possibility to include microchips and QR codes on the documents.
(4) It should be ensured that personal data processing for the implementation of this Directive complies with the data protection framework of the Union, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council 53 .
(5) This Directive establishes a legal basis for the storage of an obligatory set of personal data in the physical driving licences and their microchips or QR codes and the mobile driving licences in order to guarantee a high level of road safety throughout the Union, and in compliance with Article 6(1)(e) and, where applicable, Article 9(2)(g) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Such data should be limited to what is necessary to prove a person’s right to drive, identify this person and verify the person’s driving rights and identity. This Directive also provides for additional safeguards to ensure the protection of personal data disclosed during the verification process.
(6) In order to provide for legal clarity and guarantee the seamless transition between this Directive and Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences 54 , Member States should be able to store additional personal data on a microchip, if this is provided by national law which complies with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. This Directive does not serve, however, as a legal basis for the inclusion of such additional data.
(7) In contrast to this, the QR code established by this Directive, which allows for the verification of the authenticity of the information printed on the physical driving licence should not allow for more information to be stored than what is reported on the physical driving licence.
(8) This Directive does not provide a legal basis for setting up or maintaining databases at national level for the storage of biometric data in Member States, which is a matter of national law that needs to comply with Union law regarding data protection. Moreover, this Directive does not provide a legal basis for setting up or maintaining a centralised database of biometric data at Union level.
(9) Further commitments are needed to accelerate the fight against forgery and fraud concerning driving licences. Therefore, it is desirable for the date originally set by Directive 2006/126/EC for all physical driving licences issued or in circulation to fulfil all the requirements laid down in Union law to be moved forward.
(10) The digital transformation is one of the Union’s priorities. In the case of road transport, it will contribute to remove the remaining administrative barriers, such as the ones relating to the duration of issuing physical driving licences, to free movement of persons. Therefore, a separate Union standard should be established for the mobile driving licences issued within the Union. In order to facilitate digital transformation mobile driving licences should be issued as default from [date-of-adoption+4years], without prejudice to the applicant’s right to acquire either a physical one or both at the same time.
(11) The mobile driving licence should contain the information reported on the physical driving licences but, also information allowing to verify the authenticity of the data and a single-use pointer. However it should be ensured that even in such cases the amount of personal data made available is restricted to what would be reported on the physical driving licence and what is strictly necessary for the verification of the authenticity of such data. That additional data should be different, in particular if the person holds mobile driving licences on several driving licence, provided that it is issued by the same Member State.
(12) The Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy sets out a vision for the EU to significantly improve sustainability of mobility and transport. Emissions from the road transport sector include greenhouse gases emissions, air pollutants, noise and microplastics from tyre and road wear. Driving style influences these emissions, with possible negative impacts on the environment and human health. Therefore, driving training should equip drivers to reduce their impact on emissions as well as to prepare them to drive zero-emission vehicles.
(13) In order to allow citizens and residents to directly enjoy the benefits of the internal market without incurring an unnecessary additional administrative burden, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and the Council 55 provides for general rules for the online provision of procedures relevant for the functioning of the internal market, including for cross-border users. The information covered by this Regulation is already covered in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724. Annex II should also be amended as to assure that any requester benefits from fully online procedures.
(14) Driving licences should be categorised according to the types of vehicles they provide the right to drive to. This should be done in a clear and coherent manner and in full respect of the technical characteristics of the vehicles concerned and the skills needed to drive them.
(15) In accordance with United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 13 December 2006, to which the EU has been a Party since 21 January 2011, specific provisions should be adopted to make it easier for persons with disabilities to drive vehicles. As such, with the prior agreement of the Commission, Member States should be allowed to exclude from the application of Article 6 certain specific types of power-driven vehicles.
(16) The minimum ages of applicants for the different categories of driving licences should be set at Union level. Nevertheless, Member States should be allowed to set a higher age limit for the driving of certain categories of vehicles in order to further promote road safety. Member States should in exceptional circumstances be allowed to set lower age limits in order to take account of national circumstances. In particular, to allow the driving of fire service and public order maintenance related vehicles or pilot projects related to new vehicles technologies.
(17) A system of staging - namely establishing the entitlement for a category B driving licence as a prerequisite for the applicant to become eligible to hold certain other categories - and equivalences between categories should be established. Such system should be partially binding on all Member States, but should also grant Member States the possibility to apply it between each other in their respective territories. Member States should also be allowed to establish certain equivalences limited to their own territory only.
(18) On the grounds of road safety, it is necessary to lay down the minimum requirements for the issue of a driving licence. Standards for driving tests and licensing should be harmonised. To that end, the knowledge, skills and behaviour connected with driving motor vehicles should be specified, the driving test should be based on these concepts and the minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving such vehicles should be specified.
(19) Proof of compliance with minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving by drivers of vehicles used for the transport of persons or goods should be provided when the driving licence is issued and periodically thereafter. Such regular control in accordance with national rules of compliance with minimum standards would contribute to the free movement of persons, avoid distortions of competition and better take into account the specific responsibility of drivers of such vehicles. Member States should be allowed to impose medical examinations as a guarantee of compliance with the minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving other motor vehicles. For reasons of transparency, such examinations should coincide with a renewal of driving licences.
(20) In order to ensure uniform rights across the Union, taking into account also considerations of road safety, driving licences of categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1 and B should have an administrative validity of 15 years, while categories C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 and D1E shall have an administrative validity of five years. Member States should be allowed to define shorter period in exceptional cases, as defined by this Directive.
(21) In order to allow the Member States and, in duly justified cases the Union as a whole, to react to crises that make it impossible for national authorities to renew driving licences the validity of which would otherwise expire it should be made possible to extend the administrative validity of such driving licences for the duration strictly necessary.
(22) The principle of ‘one holder - one licence’ should prevents any person of holding more than one physical driving licence. Nevertheless, the principle should also be extended to take into account the technical specificities of mobile driving licences.
(23) For reasons connected with road safety, Member States should be able to apply their national provisions on the withdrawal, suspension, renewal and cancellation of driving licences to all licence holders having acquired normal residence in their territory.
(24) Drivers who hold a driving licence issued by the Member State where they reside following an exchange with a driving licence issued by a third country should be entitled to drive across the Union as if they had originally obtained the licence within the Union. Such an exchange could have diverse effects on road safety and the free movement of persons.
(25) The Commission should be empowered to adopt a decision identifying third countries that ensure the comparable level of road safety as the Union and provide the opportunity to holders of licences issued by these countries to exchange their driving licences on similar terms as if they were issued by a Member State. These conditions should be detailed and well-defined to all relevant driving licence categories.
(26) As regards driving licences issued by third countries that are not the object of such a Commission decision, or for which such a decision does not explicitly authorise nor prohibit the exchange, Member States should be allowed to exchange them in accordance with their national rules, provided that they use the relevant Union code on the exchanged licence. In case the holder of such a licence changes his or her residence to a new Member State, the latter should not be required to apply the principle of mutual recognition to such licence.
(27) “Driving licence tourism”, namely the practice of changing residence for the purpose of acquiring a new driving licence, in order to circumvent the effects of a driving disqualification imposed in another Member State, is a wide-spread phenomenon, which has a negative effect on road safety. Drivers should not be exempted from requirements imposed on them to recover their right to drive or their driving licence, by changing their residence. At the same time it should be clarified that any conduct from the part of the citizens should only lead to an indefinite ban from driving where it is duly justified, and that such a decision should only have an effect limited to the territory of the Member State that issued it.
(28) A Union-wide accompanied driving scheme should be introduced for certain driving licence categories, in order to improve road safety. The rules of such a system should provide the possibility of applicants to acquire driving licences in the relevant categories before the required minimum age limit is reached. However the use of those driving licences should be subject to being accompanied by an experienced driver. In such situations, Member States should be allowed, for reasons of road safety, to define stricter conditions and rules within their territory concerning the driving licences they have issued.
(29) The accompanied driving scheme should, without prejudice to its overall goal of improving road safety, make the profession of truck driver more accessible and appealing to younger generations, in order to broaden their occupational possibilities, and to help tackle the driver shortage within the Union. Therefore, it should cover category C driving licences and their prerequisite B category licences.
(30) It should be ensured that drivers who newly acquire their driving licence in a given category do not endanger road safety on account of their inexperience. For those novice drivers a probation period of two years should be established, during which they should be subjected to stricter rules and penalties Union-wide when breaking them, due to the influence of alcohol. The penalties for such conduct should be effective, proportionate, dissuasive and non‐discriminatory and their severity should to the furthest extent possible take into account the Union’s mid-term and long-term goals of halving and nearly eliminating deaths and serious injuries. As regards any other restrictions on novice drivers, Member States should be allowed to freely implement additional rules in their territory.
(31) Minimum standards concerning access to the profession of examiner and examiner training requirements should be established in order to improve the knowledge and skills of examiners thereby ensuring a more objective evaluation of driving licence applicants and achieving greater harmonisation of driving tests. The Commission should be empowered, moreover, to adopt delegated acts to amend and adapt those minimum standards to any technical, operational or scientific developments in this field where it becomes necessary.
(32) The concept of normal residence should be defined, in a way that enables resolving issues arising where it is not possible to establish normal residence on the basis of occupational or familial ties. It is also necessary to provide for the possibility for applicants to take the theoretical or practical tests in the Member State of their citizenship in the cases where their Member State of normal residence does not provide the opportunity to take those tests in the official language of the former. Specific rules should be established for diplomats and their families, where their mission requires them to live abroad for an extended period of time.
(33) Member States should assist each other in the implementation of this Directive. Where possible they should use the EU driving licence network in order to provide such assistance. The EU driving licence network, commonly referred to as ‘RESPER’ is a hub for the exchange of information between national authorities responsible for issuing driving licences and facilitating the implementation of this Directive.
(34) The EU driving licence network aims to guarantee the recognition of documents and acquired rights originating in Member States, combat document fraud, avoid the issuance of multiple licences and facilitate the enforcement of driving disqualifications. In particular, Member States should be given the possibility to systematically verify that the reasons, that led to any previously imposed restrictions, suspensions, withdrawals or cancellations of a driving licence or the right to drive, have disappeared. The use of RESPER for the implementation of other acts of the Union should only be permitted as long as those uses are explicitly provided for by this Directive.
(35) In order to enable the preparation of meaningful reports on the implementation of this Directive, the Commission should receive information on a yearly basis regarding the number of driving licences issued, renewed, replaced, withdrawn and exchanged, for each category, including data on the issuance and use of mobile driving licences.
(36) In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, in particular to adjust its Annexes to any technical, operational or scientific developments, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending Parts A, B and D of Annex I that governs the specifications of physical driving licences; amending Part C of Annex I that lays down the specifications for mobile driving licences; amending Part E of Annex I that governs the rules on the applicable national and Union codes; amending Annexes II, III, V and VI specifying certain minimum requirements concerning the issuance, validity and renewal of driving licences; and amending Annex IV laying down the minimum standards for examiners. Such empowerment should be granted for a period of five years, given the fact that technical, operational and scientific developments in the matters governed by these Annexes occur on a frequent basis. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 56 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(37) In a context of gradual digitalisation and automation and emission reduction requirements of road transport, as well as of constant technological progress of motor vehicles, it is necessary to keep all drivers up to date in terms of road safety knowledge and sustainability. The promotion of lifelong training can be key in keeping experienced drivers’ skills up to date in terms of road safety, new technologies, and ecodriving, which improves fuel efficiency, and reduces emissions, and speed management.
(38) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Directive, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to specify interoperability features and security measures applicable to the QR codes introduced on physical driving licences; provisions related to interoperability, security and testing of mobile driving licences; the extension of the period of administrative validity of driving licences across the Union in case of a crisis; the content of the self-assessment on physical and mental fitness to be conducted for drivers of group 1; the conditions of the exchange of driving licences from third countries for driving licences issued by Member States without recording the fact of exchange on the driving licence; as well as interoperability between national systems connected to the EU driving licence network and the protection of personal data exchanged in that context. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 57 .
(39) For the sake of consistency, Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council 58 , which addresses certain matters covered by this Directive, and Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 should be amended.
(40) Directive 126/2006/EC and Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2012 59 should be repealed.
(41) Since the objectives of this Directive cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States as the rules governing the issuance, renewal, replacement and exchange of driving licences would lead to so diverse requirements, that the level of road safety and free movement of citizens harmonized rules provide for, could not be achieved, such objectives are better achieved at Union level by way of laying down minimum requirements. Therefore the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
(42) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and delivered an opinion on [DD/MM/YYYY].
(43) In accordance with the Joint Political Declaration of 28 September 2011 of Member States and the Commission on explanatory documents 60 , Member States have undertaken to accompany, in justified cases, the notification of their transposition measures with one or more documents explaining the relationship between the components of a directive and the corresponding parts of national transposition instruments. With regard to this Directive, the legislator considers the transmission of such documents to be justified.