At present, only the Member State that issued a driving licence can enforce a ban that applies across the EU. If a driver commits a serious offence in another country, that Member State may restrict their right to drive locally but cannot prevent them from driving elsewhere in the EU. This situation will change once the new directive is adopted.
Under the proposed rules, when a driving disqualification of at least three months is imposed for a serious traffic offence, the Member State of the offence must notify the Member State of issuance using a standard certificate via the EU driving licence network (RESPER).
The disqualification must be final — meaning all avenues of appeal must have been exhausted — before this notification is sent.
Upon receiving the notice, the Member State that issued the licence will have 20 working days to inform the driver, where possible, and decide whether to enforce the disqualification. In principle, they will be obliged to apply a similar ban, making the penalty valid throughout the EU.
However, the issuing country may choose not to implement the disqualification in specific circumstances — for example, if it determines that the driver’s right to be heard was not respected during the original proceedings.
The regulation will apply to driving bans issued for serious offences, including:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h or more
- Causing death or serious injury by violating traffic rules
European Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas described the reform as a necessary step to improve road safety across Europe:
“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.”
The provisional agreement must still be formally endorsed by both institutions. Once adopted, the directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will then have four years to transpose the new rules into national legislation.
