EU may recommend 'harmonised' rules on drink-drive limits

The European commission is considering recommending harmonised EU-wide laws on drink-driving limits, it has been revealed.

Speaking at a Parliament Magazine conference on Wednesday, a senior commission official revealed that the proposal was under "serious consideration".

Maria Marolda, from the executive's road safety unit, said, "I can confirm that the commission is currently considering introducing a recommendation for member states on minimum safe levels of alcohol for drivers."

As a recommendation only - as opposed to a directive - any proposal would not be legally binding on member states.

But it would still be seen as a significant move by the commission towards introducing harmonised drink-drive laws in Europe.

At present, minimum blood alcohol limits for drivers differs from one member state to another.

The UK, for instance, has one of the highest in Europe while the Czech Republic and Scandinavian countries have among the lowest.

After the meeting, Marolda told this website the idea was for recommending a "standardised", or common blood-alcohol level for the majority of drivers and a lower one for professional drivers, such as truckers, and learner drivers.

However, she stressed that this would be a recommendation only, even if it was adopted.

She also pointed out that any such move may in any case be considered unnecessary.

"We are currently seeing the member states moving towards convergence on this issue so any such action by the commission may not be necessary anyway," she said.

"It is under consideration though and the reason is because we currently do not have harmonised rules on this issue."

Any suggestion that drink-drive laws could be harmonised at an EU-wide level is sure to anger many, including eurosceptics who oppose any loss of national sovereignty on such issues.

A Ukip source said, "We will not accept any such initiative. Member states should be free to decide such issues for themselves without interference from the EU."

The conference in parliament, 'preventing injuries in Europe', heard from a range of expert speakers about efforts to tackle the problem of injuries and accidents.

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