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End of foreign road fines?
— 13 / 12 / 2010
Dutch transport fines
— 24 / 07 / 2008
Use Spanish or German attestation
— 18 / 10 / 2007
Cabotage case actually disciplinary
— 05 / 07 / 2007
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End of foreign road fines
Haarlem - 13 december 2010 Since the introduction of Regulation 561/06, each Member State shall have jurisdiction over any infringement of that regulation committed anywhere in Europe. For example, violation of a rest period committed by a Dutch driver in Slovenia 28 days ago, can be prosecuted in France. As is custom, th e driver has to pay on the spot a ‘consignation’. In our opinion this is no longer necessary. We even believe that this fining is contrary to European law. After all Member States should treat foreign nationals equal. Sure, the European Court declared in a judgment from 1997 (Pastoors and Trans-Cap/Belgian State C-29/95) :as there is ‘no analogous convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany to secure the enforcement of court decisions in criminal matters. There is therefore a real risk that enforcement of a judgment against a non-resident would be impossible or, at least, considerably more difficult and onerous. That situation therefore objectively justifies a difference in treatment between resident and non-resident offenders,…
But since the entry into force of the European Framework Decision on mutual recognition to financial penalties, it is no longer impossible to get an effective sanction. What we have apparently not yet realized, is that a simple prosecution in France can be collected anywhere in Europe. Since 2007 already, being the year Member States should have implemented the Framework Decision. The French gendarme can suffice with a fine decision or summons. This will be sent to the driver in its country of origin. The fine collecting administration in his country has power to collect the fine. When he, or his company refuses to pay, then he can here be addressed on the basis of the national law. Especially as the Framework Decision lists offenses of drivers hours regulation. Fining along side the road should be banned. In our view it is not only disproportionate, but outright discrimination.
