Industry secures key changes to Commission proposals

Last week at the EU Transport Council, Ministers agreed to replace the 110 existing types of driving licence with a single document recognised across the EU.

The move comes after member states' officials agreed a compromise text following months of wrangling over details of the legislation - criticised mainly by Germany and Austria. Berlin had objected to a proposal that the new driving licence should be valid for only ten years, but under the deal reached last week, member states can choose between ten and fifteen years for the validity of the documents - expected to be issued from 2012. The old types of driving licence are expected to completely disappear by around 2032.

FTA lobbying in Brussels had focused on member concerns about frequency of medicals, change of definition to categories C1 and B. The final text agreed on the 27 March reflects the success of this pressure