EU moves on effective bans
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• EU member states could be within two months of ratifying an agreement which would ban disqualified drivers from all roads in the union.
At a meeting in Brussels last week an EU-disqualification scheme was debated by the council of home affairs and justice ministers. Ministers are keen to find a solution to the anomaly under which drivers who are disqualified in one EU state can get their licences back in another.
In the past. German hauliers who lost their licences for drink-driving were coming to the UK to take their tests and driving in Germany on UK licences. UK drivers were also being banned for minor drivers' hours offences in Germany or Italy. "It means that they cannot leave the country," says a Freight Transport Association spokeswoman.
The FTA supports a harmonised EU-wide ban: EU ministers hope to finalise an agreement in May.