Motor vehicles and trailers: recognition of the distinguishing sign of the Member state of registration

The Committee will recommend that the House adopt the Council common position on the recognition in intra-Community traffic of the distinguishing sign of the Member States in which motor vehicles and their trailers are registered. In his draft recommendation for second reading under the cooperation procedure, rapporteur Fernard LE RACHINEL (NI, F) noted that the Council had incorporated all important amendments from Parliament's first reading in its common position. The aim of the proposal is to make sure that, where the rear number plate of a vehicle showed the distinguishing sign of the member state of registration on the background of the Community symbol, that sign was recognised by the other Member States as valid identification without the vehicle needing to show any other sign. Mr LE RACHINEL welcomed the fact that the dimension of 20 mm of a distinguishing sign was to be deemed a minimum. This would leave Member States the option of introducing larger signs thereby increasing the visibility of the national distinguishing sign.�