The European Union will introduce a common driving licence from 2013 to replace 110 different models in use in the 25-nation bloc after EU lawmakers voted in favour of the measure today.
The European Parliament approved a law requiring member states to gradually replace national licences with an EU one, the size of a standard credit card, in an effort to improve road safety and reduce fraud.
"We are simplifying things. We are on the road to legal certainty and safety as well," said Mathieu Grosch, the lawmaker who steered the bill through the parliament.
The new licences will be valid for 10-15 years, a change for member states such as Belgium, Germany and France, which currently offer lifetime permits to their citizens. But countries have 20 years from 2013 to implement the rules.
Mr Grosch said Berlin was especially hesitant to back a common licence because Germans did not want to relinquish often faded paper documents that gave them a lifelong right to the road.
"It's like giving up your soul for a German. I said to my colleagues, you can always keep the old tatty one . . . you can even frame it when you get back home," the Belgian deputy said.
Some licences still in use are so old they were issued by states that no longer exist such as former East Germany, dissolved after German reunification in 1990, Mr Grosch said.
The new rules aim to clamp down on "driving licence tourism" in which people banned from driving in one state for alcohol abuse or other offences can get a licence in another EU country.
They also set stricter guidelines for obtaining a motorcycle licence. Drivers under the age of 24 will have to have two years' experience driving a small motorbike before being allowed to operate a more powerful one.
Member states can decide whether to require medical tests or refresher courses when citizens renew their licences.