EU driving bans likely • Drivers disqualified in any EU country will soon be banned in every other member state.
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The idea has won the unanimous support of all 15 EU Home Office ministers; final ratification could be completed by the end of the year.
Every EU licensing authority will automatically notify a driver's home nation if he or she is banned in their country for a motoring offence. This will lead to the withdrawal of the offender's driving licence.
The only exception will be where the disqualifying country has stricter laws than the driver's home state. If, for example, a British driver is banned for drink-driving in Sweden, which has a 20mg/100m1 blood-alco hol limit, it will be up to the UK (with an 80mg/100m1 limit) to decide what action to take.
Home Secretary Jack Straw has welcomed the deal, which took seven years to achieve, saying: "This will ensure a person banned from driving in one member state, possibly for the most reckless conduct, cannot drive with impunity in another."