HC Deb 04 April 2000 vol 347 cc430-1W
Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the alcohol limits for road vehicle drivers in each member state of the European Union; and what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the harmonisation of such limits across the EU. [116861]

Mr. Hill

The alcohol limit for drivers in each member state is shown in the table.

Member state Milligrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of blood
Austria 150
Belgium 50
Denmark 50
Finland 50
France 50
Germany 50
Greece 50
Ireland 80
Italy 80
Luxembourg 80
Netherlands 250
Portugal 50
Spain 350
Sweden 20
United Kingdom 80
1 Austria: 10 mg/I00 ml for Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) and Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) drivers and learner drivers
2 Netherlands: 20 mg/100 ml for learner drivers
3 Spain: 30 mg/100 ml for HGV and PCV drivers and learner drivers

On 17 March the Commission issued a Communication to member states setting out priorities for road safety. This referred to the intention to bring forward a Recommendation on harmonisation of the drink-drive limit. The Council of Ministers had a brief preliminary discussion of the Communication on Tuesday 28 March and is due to discuss it again in June.