To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on cross border traffic penalty enforcement; and what agreements have been reached. (129264)

I have been asked to reply.

The Department has had no direct meetings with the European Commission on cross border traffic penalty enforcement. However, research is being funded by the Commission's Director General for Energy and Transport (DGTREN) under the projects VERA (Video Enforcement for Road Authorities) and CAPTIVE (Common Application of Traffic Violations Enforcement). These projects were initiated to identify the steps that could be taken at a European level to implement a pan-EU approach to cross-border enforcement of traffic offences involving all member states. Officials from the Department and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency have taken part in workshops to take this work forward.

Additionally, in January, the Department also responded to a Commission consultation paper ‘Respecting the Rules Better Road Safety Enforcement in the European Union’. A copy of the response can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety_library/consultations/enforcement_20061106/enforcement_united_kingdom.pdf.