12.7.2021

Official Journal of the European Union

C 278/17

(Case C-47/20)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Transport - Driving licences - Withdrawal of the licence in the territory of a Member State other than the issuing Member State - Renewal of the licence by the issuing Member State after the withdrawal decision - No automaticity of mutual recognition)

(2021/C 278/22)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: F.

Defendant: Stadt Karlsruhe

Operative part of the judgment

Article 2(1) and the second subparagraph of Article 11(4) of Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences must be interpreted as not precluding a Member State, in the territory of which the holder of a driving licence in categories A and B issued by another Member State has been deprived of the right to drive on account of unlawful conduct, which occurred during a temporary stay in that territory after the issue of the licence, from subsequently refusing to recognise the validity of that driving licence, after that licence has been renewed, pursuant to Article 7(3) of that directive, by the Member State where the holder of that licence normally resides, within the meaning of the first paragraph of Article 12 of that directive. It is, however, for the referring court to examine whether, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, the rules, provided for by the legislation of the first Member State, laying down the conditions with which the holder of the driving licence must comply in order to recover the right to drive in its territory, do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary to attain the objective pursued by Directive 2006/126, consisting in improving road safety.

(1)

OJ C 161, 11.5.2020.