Overview

• Senators voted on July 1 to adopt the bill identically to the National Assembly version passed on June 3, securing final parliamentary approval
• The law lists ten aggravating factors—ranging from intoxication and drug impairment to speeding more than 30 km/h over the limit, hit-and-run and mobile phone use—that trigger the new offense
• Penalties mirror existing maxima, with up to seven years’ imprisonment and a €100,000 fine for one aggravating circumstance, increasing to ten years and €150,000 for more than two factors
• After presidential promulgation, the offense will enter into force rapidly under current criminal procedures without requiring additional legislative steps
• Victims’ groups and legal specialists caution that unchanged sentencing guidelines could yield average prison terms of around two years despite the upgraded charge