The Commission welcomes the agreement on mutual recognition of driving disqualifications

The European Commission welcomes the provisional agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on a key legislative file aimed at improving road safety.

The first attempts to establish European-wide rules on driving disqualifications began over 60 years ago. The new Directive will ensure at last that drivers who commit serious offenses in one Member State face consistent consequences across the EU. Under current rules, driving disqualifications imposed in one country may not be recognised in another, allowing offenders to continue driving and putting others at risk.

Through a system of mutual recognition, disqualifications issued in one Member State will now apply across the EU for serious offences such as excessive speeding (50 km/h over the limit), driving under the influence, and causing death or serious injury by reckless driving.

Commissioner for Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said: "This agreement represents another major step forward for road safety across Europe. The new disqualification rules will close gaps that allow dangerous drivers to evade penalties by crossing borders. With nearly 20,000 lives lost on EU roads last year, this initiative will be a crucial element in advancing our goal of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2030."

Today's agreements follows Monday's agreement on modernised driving licence rules. The European Parliament and the Council will now formally adopt the new Directive, which will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will have 4 years to transpose the Directive into national legislation.