A new licence for Europe

European MEPs have pledged their support for a single European driving licence in the 25 member states, meaning that rogue drivers will not be allowed to reapply for permission to drive in another country after they have had their original licence revoked.

From 2013, all new and replacement driving licences will be issued in a single credit card format, with the potential for individual countries to incorporate a microchip to store information about motorists' previous offences.

It is hoped that the new licence will also lead to an EU-wide harmonisation of the rules for training and retraining driving examiners, meaning that motorists can expect similar driving practices across the continent.

Dirk Sterckx, shadow rapporteur of the directive for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, said: "This decision is very important for road safety in Europe. Henceforth it will be known that whoever holds a European driving licence complies with basic rules."

However, the European parliament has drawn criticism for stating that members have 26 years from the directive's introduction to replace all current licences in circulation.

But Belgian European parliament member Mathieu Grosch claimed that this would not be a problem.

"I regret the length of this period, but I am confident that the changeover will in practice take place sooner," he said.