Response to interpellation 2023/24:529 on the EU driving licence directive and A-tractors
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers that the government has actively worked to increase understanding in the EU regarding the importance of the A-traktor for youth mobility 1 and saved it from being banned 2. KD argues that the previous government did not do enough 3 4 and that the age limit should be 15 years 4. KD sees the B1 option as a rescue for the A-traktor 4 2. S wants the age limit to be lowered to 15 years 5 6 and argues that the government could have acted more clearly before the issue reached the EU Parliament 6. S considers that the government has the responsibility to drive the issue of an exception for the age limit.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Carina Ödebrink has asked me what measures I and the Swedish government intend to take to, with safety in focus, not worsen young people's opportunity for mobility and independence by being able to drive an A-tractor.
The government protects the A-traktor. However, the EU Commission has raised questions regarding the Swedish rules for A-traktors and whether these are compatible with the EU's common driving license regulations. These questions could have led to an infringement case that would have risked the existence of the A-traktor. The government has therefore actively worked to increase understanding within the EU regarding the importance of A-traktors and youth mobility. This resulted in the EU Commission proposing a new driving license category adapted for those who drive A-traktors.
The Government considers it would be positive if any ambiguities between the Swedish A-tractor rules and the driving licence directive (2006/126/EC) could be resolved once and for all. The specific texts in the proposal are still being negotiated. In that work, the Government has the ambition that the provisions concerning A-tractors and youth's need for mobility shall, to the greatest extent possible, be designed in a way that is compatible with Swedish conditions. Safety and mobility for youth are important aspects regarding the Government's work with A-tractors.
The proposal in the driving license directive has been anchored in the Riksdag in the usual manner. At no point did any party declare a deviating opinion or reserve themselves against the government's negotiating position.
Carina Ödebrink (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
I would like to compare the A-tractors - unique to Sweden - with other clear Swedish symbols. They can be compared with falukorv, kroppkakor, surströmming and isterband. Or why not polkagrisar, dalahästar and midsommar? Or perhaps ABBA and Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
A-tractors represent a great freedom, mobility, and independence for our Swedish youth. Today, there is a strong A-tractor or epa-tractor culture with a sense of community. It is a way to socialize, and with music linked to just the epa culture.
There are many reasons why it has become so. With an Atraktor, parents do not need to drive their teenagers. They get greater freedom. Public transport outside our major cities does not always meet the needs, and sometimes it does not exist.
Young people with A-tractors are attractive for the municipalities in terms of summer and extra jobs. One can work in home care with various work tasks. It is also important to remind that A-tractors are not a big-city phenomenon - they are primarily found outside the big cities. VTI has sent out a survey to young people and parents, and they have mapped the occurrence of A-tractors: They are widely present throughout the entire country.
We Social Democrats safeguard freedom, mobility, and independence, so that our young people can continue to use A-tractors. The number of A-tractors has increased sharply from 20,000 in 2016 to 50,000 in 2022. Along with that, the number of accidents has also increased, which is serious. Some accidents have been serious.
In 2020, the requirements for the conversion of A-tractors were simplified, and it became easier to manipulate them to drive faster. Following that, both the number of A-tractors and the number of accidents increased significantly.
In light of this, the previous government gave a mandate to the Transport Agency to analyze the need for change and to change the regulatory framework. Since then, quite a lot has happened. We have received requirements for seat belts, winter tires, and a clear limit on the number of passengers per seat. Furthermore, there is now a one-year probationary period for AM driving licenses.
From the Minister's response, it emerged, quite rightly, that the EU Commission is not a big fan of A-tractors. The proposal could have posed a risk to the existence of the A-tractor. The Minister's response was also that the texts in the proposal shall be treated and negotiated in the future as well, which was also the Social Democrats' line in the European Parliament.
But I would like to ask the Minister if he considers an age limit of 15 years to be important. Can the Minister pursue the issue more clearly before the question comes to the European Parliament?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Let me agree with what Carina Ödebrink highlights regarding the advantages of the A-traktorn. That is why it was so alarming that it was imminent that the Commission could have initiated an infringement procedure. It was one of the first time-critical issues that met me when I entered the ministry. One must be honest and say that the previous government did not do enough. They had ducked answers to the Commission on this, so it was time-critical to get an answer sent to the EU Commission.
I chose another path, and I did not want to shrink back. I cannot look the young people in the eye if I have not done exactly everything I can to ensure that the threat against the A-tractor is removed at the EU level. Instead of not responding to the European Commission, I myself highlighted the importance of the A-tractor to the Commissioner at our first meeting in Brussels, and I told the Commissioner not to touch the A-tractor. During the Swedish presidency, I took this further in various talks, and at the informal transport ministers' meeting held in Stockholm, I let the EU Commissioner himself get a ride in an A-tractor and meet young people who think the A-tractor is important. They were allowed to describe this themselves.
The weather was very cold this morning, and the EU Commissioner understood, and the young people said, that from a Swedish perspective, the A-traktor is warmer and safer than, for example, an EU moped car. It was of course important that the Commission itself sees that the A-traktor is not a paper product on the bureaucrats' desks but an important means of transport for young people to ensure flexibility and mobility and for all of Sweden to function.
As I said, the position has been anchored in the Swedish Riksdag. It is in accordance with what was said during the deliberations in the EU Committee, where there were no dissenting opinions or reservations regarding the government's negotiating position. At that time, the question was not about the age limit but whether the A-traktor should be allowed to remain or not. It is positive that in that situation, through the very active work that not least I myself and the entire government did towards the Commission to protect the A-traktor, we managed to remove the threat of a ban on the A-traktor from the table.
Then came the next stage, where in the European Parliament in February we could negotiate the content even more in depth. The Swedish Members of the European Parliament worked to achieve a reduction of the driving age for A-tractors to 15 years. They did not succeed in getting large enough support in parliament for such a reduction of the age. But for my part, Madam Speaker, it is important to continue to safeguard the Swedish interests and be able to influence the proposal in the continued negotiations.
Let me also comment on the measures that the government has taken to increase safety. Even though the previous government was somewhat negative and dodged the questions from the commission, I want to say that it was positive that the assignment was given to the Transport Agency, which produced proposals that increased safety.
The government has moved forward with proposals. Now there are requirements for winter tires and the use of seat belts. The Transport Agency is working at the regulatory level to reduce the risk of tampering with A-tractors, which is very important to reduce the speed and decrease the risk that they can be tuned. This work is ongoing, and it is very important that it happens at a high pace.
Carina Ödebrink (S)
Madam Speaker! I want to once again underline the Social Democrats' starting points in this. It is about safeguarding the freedom, mobility, and independence of young people, about us having a strong focus on increased safety and increased knowledge, but also about enabling a higher speed limit and that the age limit can be lowered to 15 years. In that regard, I think the government could have acted more clearly before the question came to the EU Parliament for a decision.
We voted in the European Parliament clearly against a raised age limit regarding A-tractors.
I also want to address what the Minister says, that we would have ducked the question. I do not share that view. We had the question up in the EU Committee about a year ago. At that time, information was provided in the matter. The Social Democratic representative then flagged the negative consequences that could arise if this were to go through. It should be said that we did not register a dissenting opinion, Madam Speaker. But it was we who spoke up and raised our voices. No other party did. When the question was up in December, the question of the age limit was included, which the Minister said had not been there earlier.
There is a consensus among the parties in the Riksdag on safeguarding the A-tractors and young people's opportunities to continue driving them. What we also agree on is that we want to see a changed age limit.
I ask the Minister again: In what way will the government now pursue this issue? Does the Minister think that a 15-year age limit should apply? Does the Minister think that we should manage to get an exception? In the proposal that is now negotiated, the price for us to still be able to have A-tractors is that the age limit is raised.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! What I mean by that the previous government ducked is that they did not answer the EU Commission's questions but postponed them until after the election. For what reason, I cannot answer. But there was a great hurry to give an answer, because the letter from the Commission had been lying there for a very long time. This was before the Commission came with a proposal for a driving license directive where there was, at all, a place for the A-tractor. That is where I mean that the previous government avoided giving an answer. They ducked the question.
I chose another path, not to duck and hide behind some paper. Instead, I took up the issue directly with the commissioner and invited her in an A-traktor so that she could meet young people who themselves described how important the A-traktor is. After that came a proposal where there was a place for the A-traktor in the driving license directive. That is a completely different tone than before, when the A-traktor was actually threatened.
I have been clear that I and my party believe that the age limit should be 15 years. The starting point in the negotiation was not particularly good. But we got the A-tractor into the so-called B1 driving license. This means that the speed is proposed to be increased to 45 kilometers per hour. A consultation on the proposal took place in the EU Committee in December, and the Transport Committee received information on November 28. The deliberation on the proposal in the Transport Committee took place on May 4. The issue has therefore been raised on several occasions, and the question of the age limit has specifically been raised in the EU Committee.
If the Social Democrats had wanted the government to act in some other way, it was at this moment that we could have had that discussion. We did not perceive it that way. On the contrary, no party reported any deviating opinion or reserved itself against the government's negotiating position. It was based on the mandate that the EU Committee gave the government that we then acted, which has led to the A-tractor having a place in the driving license directive.
I view the efforts subsequently made in the European Parliament positively. The goal was not quite reached there, as there was not sufficiently large support for a reduction of the driving age. But it will be important in the continued negotiation work to safeguard Swedish interests and, ultimately, flexibility and mobility for young people in Sweden.
Carina Ödebrink (S)
Madam Speaker! There is a consensus on the issue and on the importance of safeguarding the A-license. I nevertheless want to clarify and emphasize who it is that has the responsibility but also the opportunity to drive this issue now that the proposal has fallen in the EU Parliament, and it is the government.
The proposal that was submitted in the European Parliament, and which the Minister says is what his party thinks, was indeed a proposal for an age limit of 16 years. The State Secretary said in the EU Committee in December that with a B-driving license, one can drive faster, 45 kilometers per hour. He said: "Now this opportunity is opening up. It will then be one year longer that one has to wait, from 15 to 16 years. One must take a driving test for the B1 license, but one will also be allowed to drive at 45 kilometers per hour. This is, so to speak, the saving and the well-balanced and also traffic-safety-enhancing proposal that exists for the A-tractors. We think that is very good."
The way forward is what is important. And we Social Democrats will push forward in the ongoing work so that we can get an exception when it comes to the age limit. There are other countries that have received exceptions in other matters, and I do not see it as impossible that we can solve this. But it is the government that has the opportunity and the responsibility.
Madam Speaker! The dividing line does not lie in the issue itself. But the Social Democrats are now in opposition, and it is the government that has the mandate and the opportunity to solve this.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! We need to be a bit more careful about where that mandate is derived from. It is in EU negotiations in the EU Committee. The member was clear about exactly the information that everyone in the EU Committee, all parties, had at that time. The Government received a mandate from a unanimous EU Committee for the negotiating position that we then went to the Council with. We got this B1 option through, which is, therefore, a rescue for the A-tractor.
It is not the case that the government has acted in any own, individual way. On the contrary, there has been broad consensus that this was precisely a rescue for the A-traktorn. It is from that aspect that this is very good.
If we had continued to dodge the question - if we had not taken the commission's questions seriously and addressed them with substantive arguments, if we had not shown what it is we are talking about and if the commissioners had not been allowed to meet young people who highlighted this for their own part - the situation could have been completely different.
I want to thank you for the commitment and support and, as I understand it, the enthusiasm that the government has actually saved the A-traktor. Without our persistent and determined work, the A-traktor would have run the risk of being banned by the EU Commission, and it would have been a very hard blow for Swedish youth.
Therefore, I look forward to the continued work when this directive is to be finalized. It is not finished yet, and we will continue to safeguard Swedish interests on behalf of the government. The proposal will then be voted on, and at that point, I hope we will have been successful in that.
I do not, of course, exclude different measures for exceptions, but that is not where we are now. Now we must state that the government, through its work, has saved the Tractor. Then we need to ensure that this becomes as good as possible in the end.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.