The European Union (EU) is intensifying its efforts to tackle drivers who evade fines for traffic violations committed in other member states, according to reports from Het Nieuwsblad, De

Standaard, Gazet van Antwerpen, and Het Belang van Limburg on Tuesday.

In 2015, the EU established the European Cross-Border Enforcement Directive, providing a framework that enables any member state to detect and prosecute citizens from other member states who commit traffic offences within their territories.

Now, the EU seeks to bolster this directive by significantly expanding the list of traffic offences covered under the Cross-Border Directive. Additionally, the aim is to ensure that all EU countries equally participate in prosecuting or cooperating with foreign traffic offenders.

In Belgium, the Cross-Border system proved successful, with 560,000 foreign drivers receiving tickets in 2021. Remarkably, the Justice Department managed to collect fines from two out of three of these offenders, marking one of the best results among EU member states. Photo by Dickelbers, Wikimedia commons.