Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-13-Speech-3-459"
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"en.20061213.39.3-459"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it has long been taken for granted that forms of personal identification such as passports and identity cards have to be renewed at particular intervals of time. That is not the case with driving licences. Even if a person’s name has changed several times and the photograph is over 40 years old, many are still driving with their original licence. Is that not an invitation to lawbreaking and driving licence tourism? Is it not frequently a cause for unpleasantness during road checks? Even the registration numbers of vehicles licensed in the EU have a recognition value. They make a contribution, albeit very small, to the development of a European sense of identity. The 110 valid models of driving licence, on the other hand, show Europe as a patchwork quilt. Is that what the directive’s critics want? It really is time for a standard European driving licence in credit-card format. The Council common position to all intents and purposes reflects the will of Parliament and promises great steps forward in road safety. We should vote for it tomorrow so it can be introduced as quickly as possible!
I still cannot understand, however, why we are allowing the Member States such long transitional periods. I call on my own country, Germany, to set a good example and respond more quickly of its own free will. If every country does that, the driving licence directive’s positive developments could come into effect within the period of the third EU road safety action programme, that is to say, by 2010. Sadly, the Council’s decisions are not always consistent with the Lisbon Strategy. Potential for growth and employment will be unnecessarily lost, for example, if workshop personnel are allowed to drive 40-tonne trucks for repair purposes, but not empty buses any more. And I do not understand the logic if a B licence is under certain circumstances to be enough to drive car and caravan combinations up to 4.25 tonnes, but not to drive a mobile home that is easier to manoeuvre. What a pity!"@en1
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