Speed cameras: more controversy – amnesty extended without notifying the EU

Doubts are once again being raised over the legality of the use of speed cameras: the recent amnesty introduced by the Ministry of Infrastructure is under ‘investigation’ by the EU Commission because the text of the Ministerial Decree of 8 June differs from the version that had been notified to Brussels (on 3 February). This latest instalment in the “speed camera saga” risks setting the situation back to April 2024, when the Court of Cassation ruled that type-approval was required for the validity of fines.

In this case, it is not a judgement, but rather a letter from the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for GROW (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs), in response to a complaint lodged on 6 August 2026 against the Ministerial Decree, which, after a troubled gestation period, finally laid down the characteristics, requirements and type-approval procedures for vehicle speedometers. The problem lies in Annex B to the Ministerial Decree, which lists a number of devices that were granted type-approval directly without going through thetype-approval procedure established by the Decree itself, on the basis of implementing decrees. The complaint highlighted a substantial discrepancy between the Annex and the draft decree notified to the Commission pursuant to EU Directive 2015/1535: the original text listed 15 speedometers that were directly type-approved, rather than the 25 found in the version published in the Official Gazette, which subsequently came into force.

On preliminary examination, the Commission’s services have also identified a substantial discrepancy compared with the text submitted; if this were the case – and we are only at the preliminary stage – the text of the amended decree would have had to be resubmitted to the European Commission. Further investigations are underway, and the Commission’s administrative services have already made contact with the Italian authorities.