Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences

On 19 March 2008, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council facilitating cross-border enforcement in the field of road safety, on the basis of the transport article of the Treaty (Art. 71(1) EC Treaty, now Art. 91 TFEU). The main objective of that Directive was to put an end to the anonymity of non-resident drivers and to make sure that their road traffic offences would not go unpunished.

For this reason the Directive provided the Member States with the mutual access to each other's vehicle registration data via an electronic data exchange network. This would allow them to identify drivers when they commit traffic offences abroad, thus ensuring equal treatment of non-resident and resident drivers. Once the vehicle owner's name and address are known, a letter to the presumed offender may be sent, on the basis of a model established by the Directive. The Member State of offence will have kept their right to decide on the follow up of the traffic offence.

Directive 2011/82/EU was adopted on 25 October 2011. The European Parliament and the Council chose Article 87(2) TFEU on police cooperation as its legal basis. 25 Member States had to transpose that Directive by 7 November 2013. Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland chose, in accordance with Protocols no 21 and 22 annexed to the Treaties, not to adopt and apply that Directive.

The Commission fully supported the contents of the adopted Directive but decided to challenge its legal basis before the Court of Justice of the European Union. In its judgement of 6 May 2014, case C-43/12 Commission v. European Parliament and Council, the Court annulled Directive 2011/82/EU, but maintained its effects until the entry into force of a new Directive on the basis of the transport article of the Treaty within a reasonable period of time, which may not exceed twelve months from the date of delivery of the judgement.

In order to comply with the above-mentioned judgement, the Commission prepared this proposal for a new Directive based on the correct legal basis (Article 91 TFEU).

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)476: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:476:FIN

ESO: Background information: The Court annuls the directive on cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-the-court-annuls-the-directive-on-cross-border-exchange-of-information-on-road-safety-related-traffic-offences/

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