Drivers’ attestation

The driver attestation is a uniform document certifying that the driver of a vehicle carrying out road haulage operations between Member States is lawfully employed by the Community transport operator concerned in the Member State in which the operator is established, or lawfully placed at the disposal of that operator. This document enables inspecting officers in all the Member States to check the employment status of drivers carrying out transport operations between Member States in Community vehicles and with a Community license, thereby helping the authorities to combat effectively the use of irregularly employed drivers and the resulting distortions of competition.

The driver attestation has been introduced by Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1 March 2002 amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 881/92 and (EEC) No 3118/93 for the purposes of establishing a driver attestation and it only applies to drivers who are nationals of third countries.

At the end of April 2006, a report done by ECORYS for the DG-Tren was issued on the application of the drivers’ attestation. The study has not resulted in any indication which would advocate the extension of the scope of application of the Regulation to EU nationals. We have to say that ETF has not been consulted.

ETF shares the opinion that an extension of the attestation to all EU drivers might be a tool to combat illegal employment.