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(1) Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council has been substantially amended several times . In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Directive should be codified.

(2) In its White Paper of 28 March 2011, entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’, the Commission sets out a ‘vision zero’ objective according to which the Union should move to a position where there are close to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050.

(3) The Commission, in its communication on policy orientations on road safety for 2011-2020, entitled ‘Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020’, proposed the goal of further halving the overall number of road fatalities in the Union by 2020, starting from 2010. With a view to reaching this goal, the Commission laid down seven strategic objectives, including improving the education and training of road users and the protection of vulnerable road users.

(4) A binding target of a domestic reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40 % by 2030 compared to 1990 was endorsed by the European Council of 23 to 24 October 2014. This target for emissions reduction will help to fulfil the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , and all sectors of the economy should contribute to achieving it. The transport sector needs a comprehensive approach for the promotion of emission reductions and energy efficiency. Progress should be made towards low-emission mobility, inter alia, through research and through the introduction of technological advances that are already available. Drivers need to be properly trained to drive in the most efficient manner.

(5) To enable drivers to meet the demands relating to the road transport market, Union rules on the minimum level of training for road transport drivers should be applicable to all drivers, whether they drive as self-employed or salaried workers, and whether on their own account or for hire or reward.

(6) Union rules on the minimum level of training for road transport drivers should be aimed at ensuring that, by means of his or her qualification, the driver is of a standard to have access to and carry out the activity of driving.

(7) More particularly, the obligation to hold an initial qualification and to undergo periodic training is intended to improve road safety and the safety of the driver, including during operations carried out by the driver while the vehicle is stopped. Furthermore, the modern nature of the profession of driver should arouse young people’s interest in the profession, contributing to the recruitment of new drivers at a time of shortage.

(8) To avoid unequal conditions of competition, this Directive should apply to the activity of driving carried out both by nationals of a Member State and by nationals of third countries who are employed or used by an undertaking established in a Member State.

(9) It is desirable, in order to respect the principles of Union law, that drivers of vehicles used to carry out transport where this is considered to have a lesser impact on road safety or where the requirements of this Directive would impose a disproportionate economic or social burden should be exempted from the application of this Directive.

(10) Certain exemptions should be laid down in relation to situations where driving is not the principal activity of the driver and where it would impose a disproportionate burden on drivers to require them to comply with the requirements of this Directive. Generally, driving is deemed not to be the driver’s principal activity where it occupies less than 30 % of the rolling monthly working time.

(11) Where the driving occurs infrequently, takes place in rural areas and is carried out by drivers who are supplying their own business, exemptions should apply, provided that road safety is still ensured. Due to the different conditions in rural areas within the Union in terms of geography, climate and population density, Member States should have discretion in determining whether such driving can be considered to be occasional and whether such an exemption has an impact on road safety, for example on the basis of the type of road, the traffic volume or the presence of vulnerable road users.

(12) Since the distances that persons working in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, farming and fishery, who are exempted from this Directive, need to cover in the course of their work vary across the Union, it should be left to Member States to determine, in their national law, maximum permissible distances, calculated from the undertaking’s base, to which the exemptions apply.

(13) In order to establish that the driver complies with his or her obligations, Member States should issue the driver with a certificate of professional competence (CPC) certifying his or her initial qualification or periodic training.

(14) Member States should be able to choose between several options so as to facilitate the implementation of the provisions relating to the initial qualification.

(15) In order to maintain their qualification of driver, existing drivers should be obliged to undergo periodic retraining in the skills essential for their profession.

(16) Those drivers who were exempted from the initial qualification requirement should, while continuing to benefit from that exemption, nonetheless be required to undergo periodic training to ensure that their knowledge of matters which are essential for their work remains up-to-date.

(17) The minimum requirements to be met for initial qualification and periodic training concern the safety rules to be observed when driving and while the vehicle is stopped. The development of defensive driving (anticipating danger, making allowance for other road users), which goes hand in hand with rational fuel consumption, should have a positive impact both on society and on the road transport sector itself.

(18) This Directive should not affect the rights acquired by a driver who has held the driving licence necessary to carry out the activity of driving since before the date laid down for obtaining a CPC certifying the corresponding initial qualification or periodic training.

(19) Only training centres which have been approved by the competent authorities of the Member States should be able to organise the training courses laid down for the initial qualification and the periodic training. To ensure the quality of such approved centres, the competent authorities should set harmonised criteria for their approval, including that of a well-established high level of professionalism.

(20) Not only the competent authorities of the Member States but also any entity designated by them should be responsible for organising the tests provided for in connection with the initial qualification and the periodic training. Given the importance of this Directive for road safety and for the equality of conditions of competition, the competent authorities of the Member States should supervise such tests.

(21) Member States should prescribe that the first course of periodic training is to be completed and should issue the corresponding CPC within the five years following either the date of issue of the CPC certifying the initial qualification or the expiry date of the time limit set for certain drivers to claim their acquired rights. It should also be possible for those time limits to be shortened or extended. Following the first course of periodic training, the driver should undergo periodic training every five years.

(22) To certify that a driver who is a national of a Member State is the holder of one of the CPCs provided for by this Directive, and to facilitate mutual recognition of the various CPCs, Member States should affix the harmonised Union code laid down for that purpose, together with the code’s expiry date, either to the driving licence or to the driver qualification card, to be mutually recognised by Member States, the standard model of which is depicted in Annex II to this Directive. That card should meet the same security requirements as the driving licence, given the importance of the rights which it confers for road safety and the equality of conditions of competition.

(23) Member States, in cooperation with the Commission, should electronically exchange information on CPCs. They should develop the necessary electronic platform, taking into account a cost-benefit analysis by the Commission, including the option of expanding the EU driving licence network set up under Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council . Among other benefits, that will allow Member States to easily access information on completed training which is not documented on the driving licence of the driver. It is important that Member States and the Commission make efforts to develop that functionality further, with the goal of real-time access during roadside checks.