A Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut? Directive 2021/2118 and Exclusions as Antidotes to Vnuk

As part of EU legislation regulating the compulsory insurance of motor vehicles, the Motor Vehicle Insurance Directives (MVID) imposed onto Member States the obligation to ensure that civil liability for vehicles normally based in their territory is covered by insurance. In the 2009 sixth consolidating Directive (Directive 2009/103/EC), the law had become well established. Yet in 2014, the Court of Justice embarked on a journey of extending the scope of compulsory motor vehicle insurance, first through its ruling in Vnuk v Zavarovalnica Triglav, and continuing in Juliana, Andrade and Núñez Torreiro. Together, these authorities confirmed the broadening direction of the Court of Justice’s interpretation of the MVID, contrary to its understanding by many Member States and various interested parties. This in turn led to an amending Directive enacted in December 2021 which attempted to clarify the regulation of compulsory motor vehicle insurance law for the Member States. An examination of the amending law is provided, with a focus on the exclusions available to Member States, with the consequence that States have been provided with the tools to remove or limit the most expansive and protective rights for third-party victims of motor vehicle accidents.