STA, 2 April 2019 - The European Commission has confirmed that traffic fines notifying Slovenians that they have breached traffic regulations in another EU country should be issued in Slovenian. A number of Slovenians received notices from Austria and Italy which were not written in their native language.
Addressing a formal notification from a Slovenian MEP Patricija Šulin (EPP/SDS), who informed the Commission of this violation of the EU regulations along with other Slovenian MEPs, the Commission stressed that using the official language of a person who committed a traffic offence was a requirement on the local, regional, and the EU's level.
This regulation was adopted in 2015 by the European directive facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety related traffic offences.
Šulin said that the Commission did not explicitly state how it was overseeing the implementation of the regulation in Austria and Italy. The countries' respective legislation systems ensure notifying Slovenians on traffic offences in Slovenian in theory.
The Commission stressed that it would take appropriate measures if it turned out that the two countries have been breaching their obligations under the directive, sending traffic tickets which were not in Slovenian to Slovenian citizens.
It also urged people to file an official complaint if they received notices that were not in their native language.
