PURPOSE: to establish an EU wide standard of initial qualification and periodic training for drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers (codification of Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council).

PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: in the interests of clarity and rationality of the law, the purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, which has been substantially amended several times.

The new Directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it; it fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

CONTENT: this proposal for a Directive on the minimum level of training of drivers of road transport vehicles is intended to ensure, through their qualifications, that drivers are qualified both for taking up and pursuing the activity of driving. More specifically, it imposes the obligation to hold an initial qualification and to undergo periodic training is intended to improve road safety and the safety of the driver, including during operations carried out by the driver while the vehicle is stopped.

Scope of application

The codified Directive should apply to the activity of driving carried out by both nationals of a Member State and third-country nationals employed or used by an undertaking established in a Member State.

This Directive should not apply where all the following conditions are met:

- the drivers of vehicles operate in rural areas to supply the driver's own business;

- the drivers do not offer transport services;

- the Member States consider that the transport is occasional and does not have an impact on road safety.

This Directive should not apply to drivers of vehicles used, or hired without a driver, by agricultural, horticultural, forestry, farming or fishery undertakings for carrying goods as part of their own entrepreneurial activity, except if driving is part of the driver's principal activity or the driving exceeds a distance set in national law from the base of the undertaking which owns, hires or leases the vehicle.

Qualifications and training

To establish that the driver complies with his or her obligations, Member States should issue the driver with a certificate of professional competence (CPC) certifying his or her initial qualification or periodic training.

Member States should be able to choose between several options so as to facilitate the implementation of the provisions relating to the initial qualification.

In order to maintain their qualification of driver, existing drivers should be obliged to undergo periodic retraining in the skills essential for their profession.

Periodic training shall consist of training to enable holders of a CPC to update the knowledge which is essential for their work, with specific emphasis on road safety, health and safety at work, and the reduction of the environmental impact of driving.

Only training centres which have been approved by the competent authorities of the Member States should be able to organise the training courses laid down for the initial qualification and the periodic training.