HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

Since May 1, British nationals living in Spain for more than six months and holding a UK driving licence, have been legally unable to drive.

Following Brexit, the UK and Spanish governments have been in negotiation to simplify the process of licence exchange for Brits living in Spain.

However, negotiations have recently stalled causing no end of frustration to British nationals looking to get back on the road.

In a previous update, Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott told British residents that the two governments were “in agreement on the core issues” surrounding the negotiations and that he was confident that they would be “back on the road again by the end of July”.

However, following the Embassy’s latest update via Facebook, this appears to be increasingly unlikely.

On Friday, July 22, via their social media page, the Embassy provided further clarification as to the progress of negotiations between the two governments which have been intensified in the last few months.

When addressing the question of when UK licence holders would be able to drive again, the statement read:-

“We don’t know for sure because it is a live negotiation, but the UK’s ambition is to reach a deal as soon as possible. We genuinely are making progress each week. For example, this week we have agreed the main text, which means there are only the annexes outstanding. We recognise it has been frustratingly slow though.”

Could negotiations come to a standstill during August?

With many Spanish businesses and public departments closing for the August period, there are fears that negotiations could grind to a halt causing further frustration to British residents.

The Embassy addressed the question by saying, “We have sought assurances from the Spanish Government that we can continue negotiating in August if needs be. On the UK side, we have a full team available to cover this negotiation over the summer because it is a top priority for us.”

Despite the UK side requesting for the negotiations to continue throughout August there was no confirmation as to whether the Spanish negotiators were in agreement on this. As a result, negotiations may not continue again until September.

Why has the process taken so long?

According to the British Embassy, the Spanish government is asking for direct access to driver data as a part of the driving licence exchange process. However, this has not been requested by any other EU Member State and is a request the UK’s Department of Transport would no doubt be reluctant to grant.

Any such request would require careful legal and operational consideration with the UK government having to seek additional legal advice from data experts.

Any agreement between the two governments would also require additional annexes. As a result, the demands have only served to prolong the negotiations between the two sides.

Why doesn’t Spain just extend the temporary measures like they did before so Brits can carry on driving during the negotiation phase?

Previously, Spain agreed to provide UK drivers with a number of extensions to the deadline so they could continue to drive throughout the negotiations.

However, the Spanish authorities, which includes the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have not agreed to extend them further.

The Embassy confirmed this in their statement saying, “We have asked for this but Spain have not agreed to the request.”

This proved to be a bitter blow to many expat drivers who just want to get behind the wheel again. However, as a result of the stalled negotiations, many have had to resort to using public transport to carry out everyday tasks.

Further delays to the negotiations throughout August will only compound the issue for British licence holders who will be hoping that both sides can finally come to an agreement.

Source

https://www.facebook.com/BritsInSpain/