The proposal made by the European Commission seeks to end the unnecessary burden to matriculate vehicles to another Member States. If the proposal is approved, it would lead to a very substantial administrative simplification with total savings of at least €1.5 billion per year for businesses, citizens and registration authorities.

The European Commission proposes a very substantial administrative simplification to the unnecessary burden generated when register vehicles to another Member State. According to the Commission, today it takes on average 5 weeks to complete the procedure and the cost is estimated at €400 for citizen and for businesses. In addition, these problems also represent a significant barrier to the free movement of goods, services and workers, and therefore for growth and jobs creation in Europe.

In particular, the Commission with this proposal seeks to limit the re-registration of vehicles coming from another EU country; for example citizens who work in another EU country using a car registered by their employer will not need to re-register it. Moreover, for instance, when moving residence from one EU country to another and when purchasing a second hand car from another EU country, the burden will be simplified. It will also become impossible to register a stolen car in another EU country. On the other hand, car-rental companies will be able to transfer cars to another EU country during the holiday periods without re-registration.

Registration problems have a negative impact on citizens and businesses, as the latest public consultation results on this topic revealed. Long procedures and extra costs are identified as the main effects, with 50.8% of businesses being discouraged from moving cars from one Member State to another. 23.7% of citizens and 28.8 % of businesses stated that, in the end, they could not register a vehicle in the Member State concerned.