Commenting on today's vote on cross-border traffic offences in the Transport Committee of the European Parliament, ALDE spokesperson Vilja SAVISAAR-TOOMAST (Centre Party, Estonia) said:

"Studies have shown that non-resident drivers account for a very high number of road accidents, most probably because there are no consequences to their violation of another Member State's traffic rules.  It is disappointing that Council attempts to water down the Parliament proposal when it comes to enforcement. Leaving to Member States the option whether to proceed with traffic infringements against a non-resident driver goes against the same concept that inspired this directive. Residents and non residents must be treated equally when breaking the law. The Council is responsible for weakening provisions which ultimately affect road safety."

While negotiations between EU institutions are still ongoing to try to reach a compromise at second reading, the Council proposed several changes. The most relevant is a legal basis change from Transport (Article 91) to police cooperation (Article 87.2), which de facto deletes any reference to "enforcement" procedure and limits the proposal to a mere exchange of data.

Ms Savisaar-Toomast: "We want to make sure, contrary to the Council proposal, that the directive clearly states that any exchange of information fulfills personal data protection requirements, whereby confidentiality is guaranteed and their use is solely for the purpose of the directive."

"Today's vote, based on the Council proposal, is less than satisfactory, but it is only the beginning of negotiations." she concluded.