Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 21 October 2021 - Strasbourg

8. Insurance of motor vehicles (debate)

  Πρόεδρος. – Το επόμενο σημείο στην ημερήσια διάταξη είναι η συζήτηση επί της εκθέσεως της Dita Charanzová, εξ ονόματος της Επιτροπής Εσωτερικής Αγοράς και Προστασίας των Καταναλωτών, επί της προτάσεως οδηγίας του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου και του Συμβουλίου για την τροποποίηση της οδηγίας 2009/103/ΕΚ του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου και του Συμβουλίου, της 16ης Σεπτεμβρίου 2009, σχετικά με την ασφάλιση της αστικής ευθύνης που προκύπτει από την κυκλοφορία αυτοκινήτων οχημάτων και τον έλεγχο της υποχρεώσεως προς ασφάλιση της ευθύνης αυτής (COM(2018)0336 - C8-0211/2018 - 2018/0168(COD)) (A8-0035/2019).

  Dita Charanzová, rapporteur. – Mr President, today we will take an important step, an important step towards making our roads safer, a better insurance system that protects victims of accidents, including when an insurance company goes bankrupt.

Today, we start the process to end discrimination – discrimination of EU car owners who move from one Member State to another, so experienced drivers are no longer treated like they just turned 18 years again. Today we end the uncertainty around our motorsports in Europe, who will be able to keep racing. Today, we prevent over-regulation that would have harmed the uptake of e-bikes and could have made even wheelchairs subject to a law designed for cars and trucks.

Overall, this is a good day for all vehicle users in Europe and for anyone who unfortunately finds themselves injured in an accident. These are concrete examples of Europe taking concrete actions for our citizens. On average, there is one car for two Europeans. Vehicles are a huge part of our lives and will continue to be. While our hope that our citizens never have to use their motor insurance, they should know that it will work if they need it. I’m proud to have been part of this effort.

Concretely, if you have an accident and your insurance company or the insurance company of the other person goes bankrupt, you are protected. Every Member State must have a compensation fund that will ensure compensation for injured parties as if your insurer was still active. The European Parliament also made sure that you should receive your compensation as soon as possible, within weeks instead of years.

Soon, you will see also a harmonised claim history statement across Europe. There will no longer be any excuse to discriminate against a driver coming from another Member State. So if a Czech driver moves to France, even if his or her statement is in Czech, a harmonised form will ensure it is understandable. The boxes will be the same throughout Europe. In addition, Parliament also ensured that if an insurer offers a discount for good drivers that you are also entitled to the same discount – no matter your nationality. Your clean driving record will be universally understood and valued across Europe.

We have also ended the dark cloud over our motor sports in Europe. For years, it has been unclear what the insurance requirements for racing vehicles were. For many motor sports, especially amateur competitions, to require a full motor insurance would have been their demise as either no one would sell them the insurance or the price of that insurance would be beyond all reason. After today, it will be clear – while a competition must have insurance to cover spectators and other third parties, there is no European requirement to have full motor insurance on each racing vehicle. This means the viewing public can keep going to the race track on Fridays in our cities and towns across Europe and have a good time. They will be protected and motorsports will stay legal in Europe.

Lastly, citizens can feel free to go out and buy e-bikes. There is no European requirement for motor insurance on e-bikes. While many should take out voluntary insurance, others can continue to be covered by other types of house or family insurance. But you can feel safe that buying an e-bike will be easier than buying a car or truck.

These and many other items within the Directive are examples of the European Parliament applying common sense, common sense to our motor insurance rules. We listened to our citizens and what they wanted and we delivered. However, citizens should know that a European directive can only do so much. How these reforms are now implemented is in the hands of the Member States. So, I can only hope that Member States will use the tools we have given them in the law to make sure that the common sense Parliament has shown is mirrored also, at national level. Just because you can require insurance on anything with an engine or wheels, doesn’t mean you should.

Let me end by thanking everyone who had a hand in this process and in this success from the European Commission, especially Commissioner McGuinness, to the Croatian, German and especially Portuguese Presidencies who worked with us over some very technical details of this file and found this good and very successful compromise. Let me also thank all my shadows, their assistants, but also the IMCO secretariat who kept this file alive and a special thanks to my assistant, Andrew Hillman, who was vital at every stage of this negotiation and who lived this file with me during the last more than two years.

  Mairead McGuinness, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable members, firstly, my deep appreciation for the work of Vice-President Charanzová and all of her shadows. And can I say I really appreciate your common sense approach. And indeed, if you look back on the history of the Motor Insurance Directive, the first one was adopted in 1972, and for nearly 50 years it has enabled vehicles and motorists to travel freely across the European Union using the same compulsory insurance. But above all, the directive protects the victims of accidents.

We have made a number of improvements to the directive over the past five years, and the text we agreed at the end of June is another important step towards improving the rules. The negotiations were long, in part because of the pandemic, but I believe we have reached a good compromise, which will have significant benefits for the people you represent in this house. It means that citizens will be protected if their insurer becomes insolvent. Policyholders that move to another Member State will have their claims history assessed in the same way as residents of that Member State. In other words, people can take their no-claims track record with them if they move to another EU country. And most importantly, European citizens who are victims of an accident will receive timely compensation for injuries or damages.

Finally, clarifying the scope will improve legal certainty for victims and policyholders. Colleagues, I wish you all the best for the vote today, and I hope for the adoption of this revision of the Motor Insurance Directive.

  Jiří Pospíšil, za skupinu PPE. – Pane předsedající, dámy a pánové, dovolte mi, abych několika slovy také okomentoval dosažený kompromis týkající se revize směrnice o pojištění motorových vozidel. Jsou to čtyři roky, kdy Komise předložila tuto iniciativu do Parlamentu, a já musím konstatovat jako stínový zpravodaj, jak jsem sledoval celý proces a účastnil jsem se ho, že to byl mimořádně obtížný proces. A chci tady – a zdůrazňuji, že v žádném případě formálně, ale velmi výrazně – poděkovat zpravodajce Charanzové. Ta situace nebyla jednoduchá. Opravdu mnohokrát jsme se vraceli k různým bodům. Ona to zvládla s obrovskou noblesou a bravurou a patří jí tedy velký dík, a to ne pouze společenský, formální, ale opravdový. Nebýt její práce, obávám se, že by kompromisy, které byly obsaženy, tak by nebyly tak kvalitní.

Tím předjímám i naši pozici za naši politickou frakci, za Evropskou lidovou stranu. My jsme velmi spokojeni s kompromisy, které byly dosaženy po takovémto náročném mnohaletém vyjednávání. Jsme přesvědčeni, jak už bylo popsáno i paní zpravodajkou, že ta nově navržená podoba směrnice výrazně usnadní život evropským občanům a majitelům motorových vozidel, kteří zkrátka využívají své vozidlo přeshraničně nebo se přestěhují do jiné evropské země. To znamená, že jsou zde jednoznačné přínosy.

Na druhou stranu, na konci toho vyjednávání je kompromis, který není příliš byrokratický a zbytečně nezatěžuje a nešikanuje evropské občany. Bylo to řečeno, že je zde – nebo byla zde – skupina malých motorových vozidel, která nakonec byla vyloučena z povinného pojištění. Myslím si, že to je právě odraz onoho zdravého rozumu, o kterém hovořila paní zpravodajka. Stejně tak se jasně upřesnila pravidla u sportu, motosportu, při insolvenci pojišťoven. To vše bylo popsáno a já velmi vítám konečnou podobu a doporučuji její schválení.

  Tsvetelina Penkova, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear Ms Charanzová, first of all, I would like to thank you for the hard work and also to thank all the fellow shadow rapporteurs who’ve been working hard on this file and our respective teams.

In May 2018, the European Commission proposed to amend the Motor Insurance Directive in five main areas. The first one was the insolvency of the issuer, where it was proposed to create a mechanism ensuring compensation of injured parties in case of insolvency. The second area was the right of the policyholder to obtain the statement of their claims issued in the past five years. The third was to introduce checks against insured drivers. The fourth was to set up an obligatory minimum amount of the cover provided by the insurance policies, where the Member States could add up and require a higher amount on a national level. And the final area was the clarification of the scope of the directive in line with the recent Court of Justice of the European Union rulings.

The negotiations on the file were marked by the COVID—19 pandemic and lasted almost two years. However, I believe that together with my colleagues, we did manage to achieve several important changes in the interests of all the EU citizens. We, as S&D, did manage to deliver on several key priorities.

The first one I would like to mention is that compensation to road accident victims is guaranteed even in case of the insolvency of the insurance company. This will ensure that we would not allow legal chaos to happen, even in the case of bankruptcy of any given insurance company. Each Member State is required to set up a body to compensate the insured injured parties for damage caused by vehicles when there is insolvency of the insurer.

A second S&D priority that we fought very hard for was to exclude the new forms of sustainable transportation solutions like e—bikes and scooters from the scope of the directive. We believe that only by using such innovative solutions can we reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the carbon footprint. Therefore, we need to encourage by all means necessary, the usage of such alternative transportation solutions, and they shouldn’t be in the scope of that directive.

Finally, another important aspect for us was the claim history statement. Insurers should not treat their policy-holders in any discriminatory manner based on their nationality or based on their previous Member States’ residency. We don’t believe that this should be tolerated or find any place in the directive, and we managed to achieve that.

In that matter, I would like to urge you to vote in favour of the outcome of the trilogue because the EU consumers deserve a well—functioning single market that does not discriminate them but provides fair compensation for all.

  Vlad-Marius Botoş, în numele grupului Renew. – Domnule președinte, doamna comisară McGuinness, în primul rând țin să o felicit pe colega noastră, Dita Charanzová, pentru acest raport. Libera circulație este unul dintre marile avantaje pe care le-a adus Uniunea Europeană cetățenilor noștri, cetățenilor din statele membre. Chiar dacă încă nu suntem toți parte din spațiul Schengen, avem nevoie de o abordare comună și de o colaborare mult mai ușoară și în ce privește asigurările de răspundere civilă obligatorie pentru vehicule.

Avantajele de a fi membri ai unei construcții economice și politice care poate aduce prosperitate și un confort sporit, trebuie să fie resimțite de toți cetățenii Uniunii Europene, inclusiv în ceea ce privește asigurările obligatorii, mai ales în condițiile unei campanii tot mai asidue de dezinformare și de minimizare a acestor avantaje.

Este adevărat că responsabilitatea revine statelor membre, însă trebuie să utilizăm tehnologiile digitale în întreaga Uniune Europeană, pentru a garanta că mașinile care circulă pe drumurile europene au asigurările necesare pentru a-i proteja și sprijini pe cei implicați în accidente rutiere, fără a impune însă asigurările obligatorii, acolo unde ele nu sunt necesare. De exemplu, vehiculelor care nu circulă pe drumurile publice.

Mijloacele de transport alternative ecologice care reduc semnificativ poluarea sunt întâlnite din ce în ce mai des pe drumurile noastre publice. Avem la ora actuală o infrastructură de drumuri pentru mijloace alternative de transport care leagă multe state din Uniunea Europeană, dar la care din păcate țara mea, România, nu este încă conectată așa cum mi-aș fi dorit.

Dar, pe lângă dezvoltarea acestei infrastructuri, trebuie să abordăm într-un mod unitar și armonizat și problema asigurărilor. Impunându-le doar unde și când, acestea sunt necesare pentru a veni în întâmpinarea nevoii tuturor participanților la trafic. Ținând cont de mobilitatea cetățenilor europeni, este nevoie, în același timp, să ne asigurăm că istoricul daunelor este recunoscut și ușor de atestat printr-o procedură unitară la nivel de Uniunea Europeană, cu cât mai puțin efort din partea persoanelor asigurate.

  Virginie Joron, au nom du groupe ID. – Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, Madame le rapporteur, cette proposition législative que nous votons aujourd’hui permet la correction de certains défauts observés dans la mise en application de la directive de 2009 sur l’assurance des véhicules automoteurs. Les défauts d’indemnisation des victimes d’accidents en cas d’insolvabilité d’un assureur étaient devenus trop problématiques pour être laissés en l’état.

La création d’organismes nationaux chargés d’indemniser les victimes en cas de faillite de l’assureur est une avancée importante, tout comme la clarification de plusieurs cas spéciaux apparus avec l’évolution des sociétés. L’encouragement du contrôle des assurances par les États membres des véhicules présents sur leur territoire, sans pour autant cibler spécifiquement les voitures étrangères, ainsi que la publication du mode de calcul des bonus des assureurs semblent être de bonnes mesures. Je note également que la Fédération française de l’assurance soutient ce projet.

Néanmoins, si je juge toujours positif d’améliorer les conditions d’assurance, il importe également d’accélérer l’indemnisation des assurés. Par ailleurs, si je peux me féliciter du relèvement du minimum obligatoire de la couverture, il ne faudrait pas que la hausse du coût des assurances vienne impacter le niveau de vie des automobilistes.

En France, depuis 2018 et l’apparition du mouvement des gilets jaunes, les classes moyennes, souvent rurales, qui dépendent de l’utilisation de leurs véhicules sont à bout. Que ce soit du fait de l’augmentation inédite du prix de l’essence, de l’abaissement des vitesses autorisées, du développement des contrôles radars ou, comme ici à Strasbourg, de la future interdiction des véhicules diesel, l’automobiliste voit de plus en plus l’utilisation de son véhicule comme un moyen de se faire taper par l’État.

Faciliter la vie des citoyens français et européens, c’est notre seul objectif.

  Eugen Jurzyca, za skupinu ECR. – Pán predsedajúci, chcem poďakovať a zablahoželať pani spravodajkyni, pani Charanzovej, za kvalitnú prácu, ktorú odviedla. Tomu zodpovedá aj výsledok, ktorý jednoznačne podporujem.

Nové pravidlá povinného zmluvného poistenia prinesú viacero zmien, ale aj dôležitú úlohu pre členské štáty. Keď si občan žijúci napríklad na Slovensku alebo v inom členskom štáte kúpil vozidlo napríklad v Nemecku, musel si ho tam aj poistiť na prevoz. Po novom mu bude stačiť si ho poistiť na Slovensku. Keď jazdíte bez nehody a prídete do členského štátu, kde tí, čo jazdia bez nehody, majú lacnejšiu poistku, budete mať právo dostať ju aj vy, napríklad ako Slovák, Čech, Maďar, Poliak. Zmení sa aj to, ktoré vozidlá musia mať poistenie. Elektrický bicykel ani záhradný traktor naďalej poistenie potrebovať nebudú. Rýchla elektrická kolobežka s rýchlosťou nad 25 kilometrov za hodinu už po novom áno.

Členské štáty dostali ale aj možnosť výnimiek. Napríklad nevyžadovať poistenie na vozidlá, ktoré jazdia len na súkromnom pozemku, keďže riziko, že takto niekomu spôsobia škodu, môže byť nízke.

Úlohou členských štátov bude dobre si zvážiť, ako výnimky nastaviť tak, aby sme sa v garančnom fonde skladali iba na také škody, na ktoré sa oplatí skladať sa.

  Kateřina Konečná, za skupinu The Left. – Pane předsedající, paní zpravodajko, kolegyně kolegové, jsem velmi ráda, že se nám dnes podaří uzavřít práci na směrnici o pojištění občanskoprávní odpovědnosti z provozu motorových vozidel, a děkuji velmi paní zpravodajce Ditě Charanzové za její práci, jelikož se podařilo odstranit z návrhu Komise kontroverzní požadavek na povinné ručení na elektrická kola, koloběžky nebo zahradní traktůrky. To by byl opravdu krok špatným směrem, který by rozhodně nepomohl pověsti Evropské unie. Některá motorová vozidla, jako jsou elektrická kola a segway, jsou menší velikosti a je u nich tedy méně pravděpodobné než u jiných vozidel, že způsobí značnou újmu na zdraví nebo na majetku. Navíc by tento krok dopadl do značné míry i na starší občany, kteří nemají peněz nazbyt.

Z působnosti směrnice jsou rovněž vyňata vozidla, která jsou určena výlučně pro motoristické sporty, jelikož tato vozidla jsou obvykle kryta jinými druhy pojištění odpovědnosti a nevztahuje se na ně povinné pojištění motorových vozidel, pokud jsou používána jen pro soutěžní účely. Za dva roky dojde také k výraznému zjednodušení sjednávání povinného ručení u přihlašovaných aut v jiném členském státě. Pojištění motorových vozidel má totiž rovněž podstatný vliv na volný pohyb osob, zboží a vozidel, a tedy i na vnitřní trh a schengenský prostor.

Věřím, že díky této směrnici dojde k vytvoření právní jistoty a dojde ke sladění toho, co všechno by mělo být v rámci pojištění zahrnuto. Motoristé se tedy již nemusí bát rozdílných pravidel mezi členskými státy. Dojde k odstranění negativních dopadů na celou řadu zúčastněných stran, včetně stran poškozených při nehodě, pojistitelů, garančních fondů a pojistníků motorových vozidel, vyplývajících z právní rozdílnosti. Myslím, že jsme odvedli všichni dobrou práci, a ještě jednou za ni moc děkuji, protože bude přínosem především pro občany Evropské unie.

  Róża Thun und Hohenstein (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! Cieszę się bardzo, że w końcu udało się dojść do porozumienia w sprawie tej dyrektywy, bo ubezpieczenie od odpowiedzialności cywilnej za szkody powstałe w związku z ruchem pojazdów mechanicznych jest tematem, który rozgrzewa dyskusję od bardzo wielu lat.

I specjalne gratulacje dla Dity i dla wszystkich kontrsprawozdawców, dla Komisji, że udało się doprowadzić do porozumienia, które wiem, jak było trudne. Pamiętam dyskusję w tej sprawie mniej więcej 13 lat temu, kiedy zaczęłam pracę w Parlamencie Europejskim. Potem niestety Rada zablokowała te prace na dobrych kilka lat.

Dzisiaj dokonujemy pewnego postępu, ale to że harmonizujemy niektóre przepisy i regulujemy kwestie niektórych jednośladowych pojazdów elektrycznych, to naprawdę jeszcze nie wystarczy. Bo bądźmy uczciwi, trzeba uczciwie powiedzieć, że nie rozwiązujemy problemu zasadniczego, który dotyczy tego, na co bardzo wielu konsumentów się skarży: wciąż nie będzie możliwe zawarcie umowy ubezpieczeniowej dla samochodu w jednym kraju członkowskim Unii i korzystanie z tego samochodu w sposób nieskrępowany w innych krajach.

Wiem, że to ze względu na opór Rady obywatele wciąż nie będą mogli w pełni korzystać z naszego wspólnego europejskiego rynku. Do tej sprawy trzeba będzie wrócić i mam nadzieję, wierzę, że zrobimy to w niedługiej przyszłości.

  Evelyne Gebhardt (S&D). – Herr Präsident, liebe Kollegen, liebe Kolleginnen und auch liebe Bürger und Bürgerinnen! Immer mehr von Ihnen leben dieses Europa: Sie gehen in Urlaub, Sie reisen, Sie besuchen Freunde und Freundinnen, Sie ziehen um und benutzen dazu natürlich das Auto.

Da ist es natürlich ganz wichtig, dass wir den neuen Gegebenheiten des Lebens der Bürger und Bürgerinnen Rechnung tragen, indem wir die Richtlinie, die bereits existierte, novellieren und auch noch besser machen, als sie schon gewesen ist. Deswegen freue ich mich, dass wir heute diese Abstimmung haben und dafür sorgen können, dass, sollte einmal ein Versicherungsunternehmen in Konkurs gehen, die Bürger und Bürgerinnen dennoch von ihrem Versicherungsschutz profitieren können – und das ohne sehr große Schwierigkeiten – und dass sie so ihre Rechte auch wahrnehmen können.

Ich freue mich auch sehr, dass wir dafür sorgen können, dass die Bürger und Bürgerinnen, wenn sie in ein anderes Land umziehen, ihre Bonuspunkte mitnehmen können, wenn sie bis dahin unfallfrei gefahren sind, und nicht wieder eine ganz teure Versicherung abschließen müssen. Auch das ist etwas, was wir sehr begrüßen müssen, denn das ist wirklich ein Dienst an den Menschen, an den Bürgern und Bürgerinnen.

Nicht zuletzt ist es ganz wichtig, dass wir auch für mehr Transparenz sorgen, indem wir Instrumente geschaffen haben, mit denen die Bürger und Bürgerinnen Vergleichsmöglichkeiten erhalten über die Versicherungen, und das angepasst an ihre Lebensumstände. Das ist das, was Europa bedeutet. Das ist das Gute daran.

Ich denke, wenn wir solche Gesetzgebung machen können, dann dürfen wir auf die Arbeit, die wir gemacht haben, stolz sein.

  Vlad Gheorghe (Renew). – Domnule președinte, avem multe obiective îndrăznețe până în 2050. Printre acestea sunt: zero emisii de carbon și zero victime ale accidentelor rutiere. Siguranța de pe șoselele europene și scăderea poluării depind de un set de măsuri care ne apropie treptat de aceste ținte. Ele privesc direct mijloacele de transport motorizate și pe cei care le folosesc. Prea des uităm că până și măsurile luate cu cele mai bune intenții afectează în mod diferit cetățenii europeni și tocmai cei mai vulnerabili plătesc cel mai mare preț.

În 2021 mașina nu este un lux, ci o necesitate. Să poți ajunge la muncă, să îți poți duce copiii la școală, să poți să mergi la spital. Nu sunt necesități, ci drepturi europene. Chiar dacă infrastructura transportului în comun este mai bună sau mai rea, în niciun stat membru ea nu deservește chiar toți cetățenii. Deci, europenii au încă nevoie de mașini, de motociclete, de vehicule cu care să se deplaseze. Scopul este să o facă în siguranță și cu mai puțină poluare, respectând regulile naționale și europene.

Este datoria noastră și a guvernelor să dăm toate instrumentele necesare pentru asta. Nu doar prețurile la gaze și curent au crescut în toată Europa, ci și prețul benzinei și motorinei, au crescut și vor mai crește, primele de asigurare obligatorie. Ce trebuie să facem noi, este să intervenim în sprijinul cetățenilor, să ne asigurăm că sunt protejați pe drumurile europene, indiferent de țară, să-i sprijinim pe cei mai săraci să aibă acces rapid și ușor la locul de muncă, la educație, la asistență socială.

Să ne asigurăm că transportatorii pot livra alimente și medicamente, fără să-i încărcăm cu poveri suplimentare. Să fim siguri că victimele accidentelor sunt despăgubite rapid și adecvat, iar companiile asigurătoare chiar respectă legile. Este datoria noastră să vedem că aceste companii își fac treaba, la un preț corect. Nu creează oligopoluri, nu folosesc artificii fiscale ca să scape de responsabilitate, ca să păstreze profitul. Toți cetățenii europeni au dreptul să fie protejați pe șosele și să respire aer mai curat. Este datoria noastră să ne asigurăm că în niciun stat membru aceste drepturi nu le sunt încălcate cetățenilor.

  Alessandro Panza (ID). – Signor Presidente, signora Commissaria, onorevoli colleghi, volevo ringraziare la relatrice per il lavoro svolto. Noi del nostro gruppo spesso siamo critici e caustici anche nelle critiche, ma riconosciamo quando un lavoro viene fatto bene, e soprattutto viene fatto per il bene dei cittadini europei, che traggono un vantaggio da questi accordi.

Noi appunto possiamo dirci sostanzialmente soddisfatti del risultato, perché è stato chiarito per esempio il campo di applicazione della normativa, quindi si vanno a normare anche i veicoli elettrici e gli scooter elettrici, anche se su questo si potrebbe ampliare un po'. In Italia c'è un dibattito sul normare anche dal punto di vista assicurativo per esempio i monopattini o tutto ciò che non ha una trazione cosiddetta muscolare. Tutto ciò che ha una trazione assistita elettricamente andrebbe in qualche modo regolamentato anche dal punto di vista assicurativo.

Importante risulta essere anche l'aumento della protezione per le persone lese, anche in caso di incidenti con veicoli di un altro paese, con veicoli stranieri. Per chi viene da territori di confine come me, sono cose che purtroppo succedono abbastanza frequentemente, quindi è un altro punto importante.

Diciamo che la cosa più importante di questo provvedimento, comunque, rimane la tutela dei cittadini, soprattutto per quanto riguarda l'armonizzazione degli importi minimi, così come la tutela delle garanzie per le compagnie che falliscono, che comunque consentono ai cittadini europei di trovare il risarcimento, di trovare soddisfazione nel momento in cui sono vittime di un incidente. Chi subisce un danno deve essere comunque risarcito, deve essere comunque soddisfatto.

Per quanto riguarda invece il lavoro sulla riduzione delle vittime degli incidenti stradali, qui c'è ancora tanto lavoro da fare, ma su questo sono sicuro che ci adopereremo in maniera attiva tutti quanti.

  Adam Bielan (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! Dyrektywa w sprawie ubezpieczeń komunikacyjnych z 2009 r. jest skutecznym instrumentem ochrony użytkowników dróg, a harmonizacja minimalnych norm ochrony ofiar w ruchu transgranicznym umożliwia Europejczykom podróżowanie w obrębie Unii bez konieczności posiadania dodatkowego ubezpieczenia. Popieram rewizję i doprecyzowanie tej dyrektywy, ponieważ rozwiązuje ona istotne kwestie związane z ochroną konsumentów, które pojawiały się od 2009 roku, oraz włącza w swój zakres m.in. segwaye, hulajnogi oraz rowery elektryczne.

Przede wszystkim z zadowoleniem przyjmuję większą przejrzystość, wzmocnienie praw naszych obywateli w razie wypadku niezależnie od państwa członkowskiego oraz usprawnienie procedur w celu terminowego wypłacania odszkodowań dla poszkodowanych stron. Jest to kluczowy krok naprzód, ponieważ dzięki nowemu zhmonizowanemu oświadczeniu o przebiegu ubezpieczenia nowa dyrektywa ułatwi zmianę ubezpieczyciela zarówno w kraju, jak i w całej Unii Europejskiej. Pozwoli to również zwiększyć konkurencję w Europie, a także poszerzy możliwość wyboru dla konsumentów, przeciwdziałając dyskryminacji w traktowaniu ze względu na narodowość lub poprzednie miejsce zamieszkania.

  Chris MacManus (The Left). – Mr President, I want to welcome this directive. This directive protects drivers when travelling in the EU. It also adds new rights in terms of claim history, even if your previous insurer was in a different EU country. I know this was something that frustrated many people in Ireland.

It also provides greater clarity for when an insurer goes out of business. When this happened to Maltese-registered insurer, Setanta Insurance, a number of years ago, thousands of Irish consumers were left out of pocket amid years of legal wrangling about who was liable to compensate them. This new directive will clarify the law, so that it will hopefully be obvious straightaway who will compensate drivers when left high and dry.

Moreover, the debate gives us an opportunity to assert the right of Irish drivers to see reductions in their premiums now that pay-outs have dropped by 40%. In June of this year, the Commission made a preliminary finding of anti-competitive practice amongst Irish insurers, something blindingly obvious to many of us for a long time.

So, I want to conclude by saying to the Commission here today, don’t take your eyes off the Irish insurers. If we don’t see reductions in premiums proportionate with the reduction in pay-outs, I will be knocking on the Commission’s door again on behalf of Irish drivers.

  Deirdre Clune (PPE). – Mr President, my thanks to the rapporteur and our team for bringing us to this point today, which is a revision of the Motor Insurance Directive last revised in 2019, and that was a major advancement allowing EU residents to travel anywhere in the EU without the need for further insurance.

So it’s a very important measure today for the single market, for provision of services, for those offering business across the European Union and for our constituents, for consumers and for citizens across Europe. The most important is the protection of victims in the case of an accident and today is an important day for those victims. This revision will be welcomed by consumers that are protected in the event of the insurer becoming insolvent. Member States now have to make sure that a body is in place to deal with such cases. A very important consumer protection measure and that compensation will now come from the Member States and those Member states will pursue the insurer.

A previous speaker mentioned Setanta Insurance Company and the situation that occurred in Ireland. Those who were insured at the time with that company were asked to go to their solicitors to pursue their claims. That no longer will be the case now.

Also, for uninsured victims, or uninsured vehicles or untraceable vehicleswill now not be a burden for victims, as Member States would have to create the funds to compensate those victims. And when moving around, across borders, citizens can bring their no claims bonus with them, and that’s very much to be welcomed.

E-scooters, Segways, E-bikes are outside the scope of this Motor Insurance Directive now, and I welcome that. I think it’s a practical, common sense measure. There’s no EU requirement now to have motor insurance for these items, but it is a matter for the Member States, and I would urge them to take it up. There are concerns from citizens, but that can best be done locally in the Member States and I would encourage them to do so.

  Maria Grapini (S&D). – Domnule președinte, doamna comisară, dezbaterea de astăzi are o importanță deosebită pentru cetățenii din spațiul Uniunii Europene, pentru că, până la urmă, are mare legătură cu viața cetățenilor. Sigur, a fost un drum lung, s-a spus aici, parcurs pentru dezbaterea modificării Directivei 2009/103 privind eficiența și coerența acesteia.

Chiar Comisia Europeană a identificat patru puncte pe care, iată, noi, în munca făcută și în rezultatul de la trialog, le-am cuprins. Este vorba de sumele minime asigurate, de despăgubirile părților vătămate în urma unui accident în caz de insolvență. Sunt cazuri foarte multe, am chiar recent un caz, în țara mea, de societate de asigurări în insolvență și cetățenii nu își pot recupera banii. Până la urmă ține și de protecția consumatorului.

Evident, utilizarea atestărilor privind istoricul daunelor - este foarte important ca atunci când o societate intră în insolvență, cu ajutorul acestui istoric al datelor, să poată să fie preluată de o altă societate și să nu sufere, până la urmă, partea vătămată sau cetățeanul care a fost implicat într-un accident. Sigur că eu doresc ca, pe lângă aceste patru domenii, să se introducă în viitoarea directivă prin modificare și răspunderea în cazul unui accident care implică o remorcă tractată de un vehicul. Foarte multe accidente există în asemenea cazuri.

Evident că pentru funcționarea sistemului de asigurări este necesar să existe o transmitere de date, un sistem integrat în Uniunea Europeană, pentru ca statele membre să poată să își transmită informațiile. La toate vehiculele ar trebui făcute aceleași verificări, fără discriminare, pentru că, până la urmă, trebuie să aibă aceleași condiții de circulație. Sigur că este important să asigurăm rambursarea rapidă a banilor pentru persoanele implicate, vătămate sau implicate într-un accident. Întreprinderile de asigurări ar trebui să trateze o atestare dintr-un alt stat membru în același mod cum tratează o atestare internă, să nu fie tratați diferit străinii.

De aceea, doamna comisară, îmi pun speranța că, totuși, directiva va fructifica munca făcută aici, în Parlament, și rezultatul trialogului și vom avea o directivă care să servească ... (Președintele a retras cuvântul vorbitoarei)

  Kosma Złotowski (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! Bezpieczeństwo na drogach zależy nie tylko od nowoczesnej infrastruktury czy umiejętności kierowców, ale także od efektywności systemu ubezpieczeń komunikacyjnych. Harmonizacja przepisów w tym zakresie jest konieczna ze względu na częste podróże i wysoką mobilność między państwami członkowskimi, zarówno w celach zawodowych, jak i w celach turystycznych.

Możliwość łatwego dostępu do całej historii naszych roszczeń ułatwi ubezpieczenie pojazdu w innym kraju i pozwoli uniknąć dyskryminacji właścicieli pojazdu ze względu na narodowość lub poprzednie miejsce zamieszkania.

W ostatnich latach pojawiło się także wiele nowych kategorii pojazdów, które nie były objęte obowiązkowym ubezpieczeniem. Ich użytkownicy także powodują wypadki, więc rozszerzenie tej listy było konieczne.

Jednocześnie cieszy fakt, że państwa członkowskie będą mogły w uzasadnionych przypadkach ustanawiać w tym zakresie wyjątki i przyjmować przepisy korzystniejsze dla poszkodowanych niż minimum określone w tej dyrektywie.

  Antonius Manders (PPE). – Voorzitter, commissaris, alle lof, vooral ook aan Dita Charanzová, dat dit bereikt is na zo veel jaren. Het is een prima compromis en het is goed dat dit ook door de lidstaten wordt gesteund. Het vrije verkeer van personen in de Europese Unie is een heel groot goed en dat kan met deze richtlijn fors worden verbeterd. Het is goed dat verzekerden worden beschermd in geval van faillissement van de verzekeraar. Het is goed dat er minimale dekkingsbedragen zijn, dat die actueel zijn gemaakt, en het is goed dat het duidelijk is wat er gebeurt met ongelukken op een werkterrein. Nogmaals iedereen die eraan meegewerkt heeft, gefeliciteerd!

Echter, regeren is vooruitzien, commissaris, dus ik wil graag wat zaken meegeven waar bij een volgende herziening rekening mee kan worden gehouden. Dat zal bijvoorbeeld zijn, vind ik, dat we af moeten van een richtlijn en moeten streven naar een verordening. De rapporteur zei: “Wij hopen op het gezond verstand van de lidstaten.” Maar als het een verordening is, dan is het volledig geharmoniseerde wetgeving. En met name bij grensoverschrijdend verkeer, denk ik, is dat heel belangrijk.

In sommige gevallen zijn nu een aantal voertuigen niet meegenomen in de verzekering, bijvoorbeeld de elektrische fiets, maar je zult als voetganger worden overreden door een elektrische fiets en die man of die vrouw is niet verzekerd. Hoe gaan we daarmee om in de toekomst? Nu begrijp ik dat, het zijn kleine zaken, maar aangezien wij meer en meer elektrische voertuigen, ook kleine, gaan gebruiken, is dat reden voor onderzoek.

Een belangrijke zaak is als er schade is op autowegen. Dan zie je dat bestuurders in paniek raken. Wie is aansprakelijk? En daardoor ontstaan enorme files. Het zou goed zijn – en wellicht dat u dat kunt laten onderzoeken, commissaris – als verzekeraars het verminderen van de no-claim bij schade op autowegen laten vervallen en ook het eigen risico, waardoor voertuigen sneller van de weg af kunnen, want de mensen die daardoor in de file staan, zijn ook consumenten. Dat zijn ook burgers van Europa. En die schade is vele malen hoger. Ik denk dat verzekeraars daar een oplossing voor kunnen vinden.

Dan last but not least, in Nederland kennen wij een digitale app voor mobiel schade verhalen. Het zou goed zijn om die Europees in te voeren, waardoor de afwikkeling sneller kan dan nu gebeurt. Want afwikkeling op papier, die tijd is voorbij.

  Leszek Miller (S&D). – Panie Przewodniczący! Wdrożenie omawianej dyrektywy ma na celu ujednolicenie przepisów krajowych dotyczących odpowiedzialności cywilnej kierowców i zasad jej egzekwowania. Dzięki niej obywatele będą mogli podróżować po całej Unii bez konieczności kupowania dodatkowych ubezpieczeń w oparciu o jedną składkę. Dyrektywa ułatwia funkcjonowanie jednolitego rynku, ale także przyczyni się w istotny sposób do wzmocnienia ochrony ofiar wypadków drogowych, gdyż państwa członkowskie będą zobowiązane do utworzenia funduszy gwarancyjnych wypłacających odszkodowania ofiarom w razie niewypłacalności ubezpieczyciela, wypadków spowodowanych przez pojazdy nieubezpieczone albo nieustalone.

Dzisiejsza debata wieńczy długi, ponad dwuletni okres negocjacji z Radą. Uważam, że Parlamentowi udało się wypracować dobry kompromis uwzględniający większość naszych poprawek zgłoszonych do wniosku Komisji. Na szczególną uwagę zasługuje wyłączenie spod dyrektywy lekkich pojazdów elektrycznych, wprowadzenie odstępstw dla pojazdów czasowo wycofanych z eksploatacji oraz uzupełnienie przepisów o kryteria, które muszą spełniać internetowe porównywarki cen ubezpieczeń komunikacyjnych, aby mogły one być certyfikowane przez państwa członkowskie. Uważam, że dyrektywa w ustalonym kształcie będzie odpowiednio realizowała swoje cele, zapewni wysoki poziom ochrony poszkodowanych w wypadkach drogowych i ułatwi swobodę przepływu osób i pojazdów w obrębie Unii. Mając to na uwadze, Parlament powinien opowiedzieć się za przyjęciem wynegocjowanego tekstu dyrektywy.

Dziękuję wszystkim, którzy osiągnęli negocjacyjny sukces.

  Mairead McGuinness, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I can be brief. I think to the rapporteur, Vice-President Charanzová, and your team of shadow rapporteurs, you have got praise from all sides of this house for your work, and I think that is a good compliment to your success this morning. It’s been a long process, because this dates back to the previous parliamentary mandate. So for your commitment to this file, certainly from our side, deep appreciation. And of course, we would also thank the Council for their work.

I think the debate this morning underlines the European Parliament’s commitment to better protection for citizens, and I hope that today’s vote will confirm that we can deliver better EU rules for motor insurance that brings significant benefits for victims and policyholders. And to those Members of Parliament who raised issues, perhaps for a future time, I have taken good note.

  Πρόεδρος. – Η συζήτηση έληξε.

Η ψηφοφορία θα διεξαχθεί σήμερα.

(Η συνεδρίαση διακόπτεται στις 12.32)

VORSITZ: RAINER WIELAND
Vizepräsident