Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2022)313 - Specific and temporary measures, in view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerning driver documents issued by Ukraine in accordance with its legislation - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2022)313 - Specific and temporary measures, in view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerning driver documents issued by Ukraine in ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2022)313  |
| date | 20-06-2022 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
In the first ten weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022, more than five million people have left Ukraine, fleeing the armed conflict and seeking shelter in neighbouring countries, mostly in the European Union 1 . As early as 4 March 2022, the EU established the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine and offered temporary protection to the displaced people 2 . Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 sets out the categories of persons entitled to temporary protection or adequate protection under national law. Temporary protection entails the right to be issued a residence permit for the entire duration of the protection and to have access, among others, to accommodation, schools, health care, and jobs. A residence permit issued by one Member State brings with it the right to travel within the Union for 90 days within a 180-day period.
A driving licence enhances the mobility of its holder and facilitates everyday life as it allows for driving power-driven vehicles on public roads. In the given context, it promotes the participation of persons enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law in economic and social activities in their new environment.
In accordance with Article 41 of the Convention on Road Traffic done at Vienna in 1968 (henceforth ‘Vienna Convention’), each Contracting Party recognises the domestic and/or international driving permits duly issued in another Contracting Party, under certain conditions. Ukraine and 23 Member States have ratified the Vienna Convention and apply its provisions in relations between them; however, Spain has not ratified the Vienna Convention, whilst Cyprus, Malta and Ireland are not Parties to it.
The rules and procedures related to the recognition and exchange of third-country driving licences differ from one Member State to another, depending among others on the specific provisions of their national legislation or in the existing bilateral agreements between the Member States and the third country in question. In the case of persons enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law with a valid driving licence issued by Ukraine, it is appropriate to provide for a harmonised framework for the recognition of driving licences within the territory of the Union, for as long as the period of temporary protection lasts.
As a general rule, persons enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law who hold a valid driving licence issued by Ukraine should be able to use their driving licence on EU territory for as long as the temporary protection lasts. In view of the temporary nature of the protection, there should be no need to exchange a Ukrainian driving licence for one issued by a Member State. This considerably eases the burden on the competent authorities of the Member States, as they would otherwise potentially have to exchange millions of Ukrainian driving licences. At the same time, persons enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law will not have to immediately pass another theoretical and/or practical driving licence test – often in a foreign language to them – and/or undergo medical examinations in the Member State of their temporary residence.
In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, Contracting Parties may require the holder of a driving licence issued by another Contracting Party to have an international driving permit (based on a harmonised format) in addition to the domestic driving permit. Practices vary across Member States in this regard, and an international driving permit from holders of Ukrainian driving licences is in particular often required in some Member State when the domestic driving permits are written in Cyrillic letters only, while in others this is not the case. As long as the war rages in Ukraine, it is close to impossible for holders of Ukrainian driving licences to get hold of an international driving permit issued by the competent Ukrainian bodies. Persons enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law should therefore be exempted from the requirement to hold an international driving permit in addition to the Ukrainian one, for at least as long as the period of temporary protection lasts. A certified translation from the existing Ukrainian driving licences should also be waived under these exceptional circumstances, as it can prove to be costly and would generate additional expenditures for people who have possibly lost all of their savings to flee from their country. Additionally, few certified translators are established outside large cities across the European Union, and the delivery of certified translations often requires the presentation of the original documents in person.
Similar considerations apply to the certificates of professional competence (CPC) of bus and truck drivers. Such CPCs usually have an administrative validity of no more than five years, in accordance with Directive 2003/59/EC 3 , which Ukraine has already implemented for drivers engaged in international transport operations 4 . In view of the context, qualified professional drivers having fled the war from Ukraine should be granted an adequate access to economic activities in the EU. With a view to developing an effective harmonised implementation of the relevant provisions of this proposal, the Commission will organise exchanges of views on national rules adopted by Member States with the experts designated under Article 11a i of Directive 2003/59/EC.
As outlined in the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes action plan, and in this context, access of professional drivers from Ukraine to employment in the European Union should be facilitated, by defining specific rules concerning the issuance of certificates of professional competence to Ukrainian professional drivers. In the context of the overall growing shortage of truck drivers, EU-Ukraine alternative logistical links and Ukraine’s continued access to its export markets ought to be strengthened in the aftermath of the current blockage of its Black Sea ports.
Driving licences and certificates of professional competence are usually subject to a limited period of validity. As long as the war rages in Ukraine, however, Ukraine may likely not be able to ensure the administrative support necessary to individually renew these documents. In this extraordinary situation, the Ukrainian government could decide to extend the validity of these documents. In that case, the Union and the Member States should be adequately informed by Ukraine of such extensions. Member States should recognise an extended validity of Ukrainian driving licences going beyond their administrative period of validity, at least until the end of the period of temporary protection.
The circumstances of fleeing war often entail the loss or theft of important documents such as driving licences or certificates of professional competence, or their leaving behind in the war zone without an immediate possibility of recovering them. In such cases, subject to verification, for instance, in the national electronic driving licence register of Ukraine, Member States should be in a position to issue temporary licences that replace the original ones for the duration of the temporary protection. Access to the Ukrainian driving licence register by the competent authorities of the Member States would facilitate such a step. Without the possibility of verifying the authenticity of the information provided by the displaced persons, Member States should refuse to issue such temporary driver documents. In addition, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, nearly 5.7 million driving licences have been issued via the mobile citizen portal application, DIIA (‘Action’). The DIIA allows for the issuance and verification of electronic documents and delivery of public services. Despite the fact that the DIIA application does not comply with the ISO standard 18013-5 on mobile driving licences published in September 2021, it offers the possibility to verify driving rights relevant to the exceptional situation addressed by this Regulation.
Finally, the provisions of this Regulation address exceptional circumstances and lay down exemptions which should not be replicated under normal circumstances. It is therefore especially important that the enforcement of this Regulation is not conducive to putting road users and pedestrians at risk, by allowing people unfit to drive to do so on the EU roads. In that context, adequate measures should be implemented by the competent authorities of the Member States for the purpose of combatting fraud and forgery.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The provisions of the proposed regulation complement the existing Union rules on driving licences (Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences 5 ) and on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods and passengers (Directive 2003/59/EC). Neither of the two directives contain common rules on the recognition of relevant documents issued by third countries. Such common framework is however necessary in the specific and extraordinary context arising from the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression of Russia against Ukraine, as it allows for an administrative approach that minimises the bureaucratic burden, and at the same time ensures road safety across the Union.
• Consistency with other Union policies
This proposal complements Union rules on the temporary protection of displaced persons, in particular Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC 6 , which has for the first time established the existence of a mass influx into the Union of displaced persons who have had to leave Ukraine as a consequence of an armed conflict in accordance with Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof 7 . The proposal allows those displaced persons to use the documents required for the driving of motor vehicles on the public road network of the Union and for carrying out the professional activity of driving, thus promoting the economic and social integration of those displaced persons. This proposal also provides for certain minor derogations from Directive 2003/59/EC and Directive 2006/126/EC that address the specific needs of the situation.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
The legal basis is Article 91(1)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
• Subsidiarity
The Union has already adopted legislative action in the area of driving licences (Directive 2006/126/EC) and of the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods and passengers (Directive 2003/59/EC). The amendments outlined above remain within the competencies conferred upon the Union by virtue of Article 91(1)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Under this provision the European Parliament and the Council must, acting in accordance with the co-decision procedure, lay down measures to improve transport safety.
The proposed rules aim to improve road safety as an aspect of transport safety, while at the same time providing for the economic and social integration of persons displaced as a consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Such measures are destined to ensure that those persons benefitting from temporary protection enjoy the freedom to move within the Union by driving power-driven vehicles, and also the freedom to work by carrying out the professional activity of driving, while ensuring that they do so in line with safety-related aspects and standards applicable in the Union.
The objective of this Regulation cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, as it requires a harmonised regulatory framework and coordination to a problem caused by the war in Ukraine that affects the European Union as a whole. It can therefore by reason of the scale and effects of the action be better achieved at Union level.
• Proportionality
This Union action is necessary to achieve the objective of the proper operation of the temporary protection mechanisms provided for by the relevant pieces of Union law, taking into account the magnitude and gravity of the impact of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine. The proposed Regulation contains targeted temporary measures, which are strictly linked to the current situation and limited to what is necessary to ensure legal certainty, road safety and the smooth functioning of the internal market.
• Choice of the instrument
This proposal concerns specific provisions that affect the application of several Directives. The provisions of the act proposed should apply immediately and directly in order to guarantee legal certainty, for the transport operators and other persons concerned, as well as for the Member States’ authorities. This legislative act should therefore take the form of a Regulation that is directly applicable and does not require transposition into national law.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
This is not applicable due to the exceptional, temporary and one-off nature of the event necessitating this proposal, which does not relate to the objectives of existing legislation.
• Stakeholder consultations
Given the urgency of the matter, a formal stakeholder consultation has not been carried out. However, four informal exchanges of views have been held with the members of the Committee on driving licences (on 17 March, 31 March, 13 April and 12 May 2022), addressing also marginally the case of certificates of professional competences.
The consultation confirmed the patchwork of rules applying to the recognition of official driving documents issued by third countries. The situation varies significantly between Member States as national provisions govern most of the relevant aspects. Given the amplitude of the situation and the need for immediate measures, EU action in the field has been considered necessary by the Member States’ experts.
• Collection and use of expertise
As explained, the proper collection of expertise was not possible due to the urgency of the situation.
• Impact assessment
Given the urgency of the situation, no impact assessment has been carried out. This proposal does in any case not alter the principles and mechanisms of the Union legislation concerned.
• Fundamental rights
This proposal aims at facilitating the free movement within the Union of people enjoying temporary protection or adequate protection under national law.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
Not applicable.