Evaluation of the Directive on driving licences

The European Commission has published an evaluation of the current European Directive on driving licenses (Directive 2006/126/EC). The evaluation assessed the effectiveness, the efficiency, relevance, coherence and the EU added value of that Directive.

It concluded that while progress was likely made in terms of improving road safety, more efforts are needed in light of ambitious EU targets; that the Directive is likely to have been beneficial to free movement but that some differences still remain; that there is significant potential for simplification and reduction of administrative burden; and that the current provisions of the directive on driving skills and knowledge do not sufficiently reflect new technological solutions. The report concludes that the main benefit of the directive as compared to what could have been achieved in bilateral and international cooperation is related to the increased harmonisation of driving licence rules across Member States.

The Commission will take the results of this evaluation of the current Directive on driving licenses into account in its planned revision of the Directive, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022.

• Evaluation
• Executive summary