The Plenary of the House of Representatives has approved a bill amending the Law on the Out-of-Court Settlement of Offences so that the on-the-spot fine for violating a traffic sign relating to the parking of a non-electric vehicle in a publicly accessible charging point is set at €85.

The Transport Committee introduced an additional provision so that the regulation applies both to non-electric motor vehicles and to electric vehicles that are not in charging mode.

A clause was also added specifying that an electric vehicle is considered to be in charging mode only when the charging cable is physically connected to the charger at the recharging point.

The proposed amendment also applies to parking in municipal spaces.

According to the proposer and the explanatory memorandum, the amendment is deemed necessary in order to address the widespread issue of vehicles occupying designated electric-vehicle charging spaces—either by non-electric vehicles or by electric vehicles that are not actually charging.

Mr Papadouris said that this is “a very simple bill that, nevertheless, addresses gaps identified following complaints and phone calls from citizens.”

It is recalled that, in response to concerns raised during the discussion of the bill, the competent authorities clarified that under European legislation on alternative fuels, publicly accessible electric-vehicle charging points are considered accessible to the public regardless of whether they are located within a controlled area.

It is also worth noting that the €85 fine is currently in force for violations involving bus-lane traffic signs.