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Welcome to the March edition of the SPARKS Programme online newsletter, which highlights issues impacting enforcement of decriminalised and administrative penalty charges in the UK and other EU member states. We hope you find the contents interesting and useful in your job. Legal research report published The Eurosparks legal research team report on cross-border traffic enforcement is being presented to the European Commission during March. It calls on the EC to improve legislation so local authorities no longer have problems enforcing charges and penalties against non-residents, which currently leads to widespread evasion. An abstract of the report, including the executive summary and detailed recommendations, is available on the SPARKS website in English, Italian and German. It will soon also be available in Dutch, French, Polish and Spanish. Eurosparks legal research abstract United voice for traffic enforcement authorities across Europe A SPARKS Network is being set up to make it easier for local traffic authorities to lobby for legislative changes at national and EU levels. The network will be launched this spring and gives European partners an active role in lobbying activities as well as broadening SPARKS remit. Membership will be open to public authorities responsible for traffic enforcement at local, regional and national level. Other organisations with an interest in traffic enforcement will be able to join as associates. Express your interest in joining the SPARKS Network Photographic highlights of the Eurosparks seminar in the Committee of the Regions building in Brussels, including all the speakers, are now available on the SPARKS Programme website. Brussels seminar photo gallery European leaders recognise enforcement problems EU politicians and officials attending the Brussels seminar acknowledged something needs to be done at European level to resolve the issue of FRV contraventions. Salla Saastamoinen, from the European Commission, welcomed the Eurosparks recommendations and said that it was time for the commission to look at how these might affect policies in the future. Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP said the research report had articulated what needs to be done and that clarity on EU action and legislation was now needed. Highlights of Eurosparks Brussels seminar The SPARKS Programme is an initiative that enables local authorities in the UK and EU member states to collaborate in resolving the issue of cross-border enforcement of civil traffic contraventions. Our objective is for traffic enforcement to be equally effective against all vehicles irrespective of nationality. Aims include identifying legislative solutions, increasing awareness of the issues within government, working with local authorities to seek common solutions and gathering data to build a coherent picture of the size and impact of the issue. The SPARKS Programme works hard to ensure that information on our websites are up-to-date and accurate and that applications function correctly. The SPARKS Programme will treat any personal information that you provide to us in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. We will not share any of your personal information with third parties unless it is in response to a lawful request for information such as a court order, witness summons, or complaint from a government authority. Your personal information will also not be sold to third parties. We welcome your views on this ezine, which should be addressed to the editor Jo Ann Sweeney at jo.ann@sweeneyuk.com |
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 www.sparksproject.org |
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