Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Towards Europe-wide Safer, Cleaner and Efficient Mobility: The First Intelligent Car Report
Date: 2007-09-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: electronic equipment, information technology, intelligent transport system, reduction of gas emissions, transport safety

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.9.2007 
COM(2007) 541 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Towards Europe-wide Safer, Cleaner and Efficient Mobility: 
The First Intelligent Car Report 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Efficient transport services are crucial to the competitiveness of European industry. Although 
a major contributor to growth, transport does have environmental, economic and social costs. 
The  environmental  costs  of  transport,  for  example,  are  estimated  to  represent  1.1  %  of 
Europe's GDP1. Road congestion continues to grow and causes a further 1% loss of GDP In 
the area of Road Safety, Europe's ambitious goal to reduce fatalities by 50% by 2010 from the 
2001 level was introduced in the White Paper on Transport Policy2. In the mean time, safety 
has improved considerably; however with 41,600 deaths, more than 4000 above the target set 
by the White Paper, and 1.7 million injured in 20053, the situation is unacceptable. 

In  January  2007  the  Commission  proposed  an  integrated  energy  and  climate  package  with 
targets on greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy to cut emissions. On this basis, in 
the 2007 Spring European Council the EU heads of state and government set a firm target of 
cutting  20%  of  the  EU's  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  20204,  a  goal  supported  by  the  G8 
Summit, which in June 2007 under the German Presidency stressed the urgency of combating 
climate change. With respect to road transport the Commission's objective has been to reach 
average CO2 emissions of 120g/km for new passenger cars and light-duty vehicles by 2012. 
This will be done through an integrated approach where CO2 emissions of 130g/km are to be 
delivered  through  vehicle  motor  technology  and  the  additional  10  grams  through  other 
technological measures and the increased use of bio- fuels5. 

Intelligent  transport  Systems  (ITS)  adds  information  and  communications  technology  to 
transport infrastructure and vehicles. It aims to manage factors that are typically at odds with 
each  other  such  as  vehicles,  loads,  and  routes  to  improve  safety  and  reduce  vehicle 
congestion,  transportation  times  and  fuel  consumption.  The  potential  contribution  of  ICT's 
and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is highlighted in the Mid-Term Review of the White 
Paper  on  Transport  Policy  and  the  Commission's  Communication  on  Energy  Policy6.  ICT's 
are part of an Integrated Approach both in road safety and cleaner mobility, aimed at reaching 
the objectives with measures that complement and integrate the existing ones. In this context 
the  2006  review  of  the  White  Paper  on  Transport  Policy  “Keep  Europe  Moving”  gave  the 
following commitment for 2008: 

'Launch of a major programme to bring intelligent road transport systems to market and to 
prepare infrastructure for cooperative systems.'  

As  earlier  approaches  to  accelerate  ITS  deployment  have  been  too  limited  in  scope  and  did 
not lead to the expected results, a major EC led initiative based on a holistic policy approach 
has  been  initiated  aiming  at  the  publication  of  a  Roadmap  for  major  roll-out  of  ITS 
deployment  integrating  the  intelligent  vehicle  and  the  intelligent  infrastructure  in  summer 
2008. A specific consultation with stakeholders is envisaged to start in autumn this year. This 
roadmap  will  draw  on  the  work  done  in  the  i2010  Intelligent  Car  Initiative  on  intelligent 
vehicles. 

1 COM(2006) 314 
2 COM(2001) 370 
3 COM(2006) 74 
4 http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/index_en.htm 
5 COM(2007) 19 and, COM(2007) 22 
6 COM(2007) 1  

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A  number  of  elements  in  the  domain  of  intelligent  vehicles  are  being  addressed  by  the 
Intelligent  Car  Initiative7,  launched  in  2006  as  a  policy  framework  for  actions  of  the 
Commission  and  other  stakeholders  in  this  area.  This  initiative  builds  on  advanced  ICT  to 
make our road transport safer, cleaner and smarter. The Intelligent Car Initiative is a flagship 
project within i20108 which is the European Commission's strategic policy framework for the 
information society and the media in the years up to 2010.  

The Commission Communication on Intelligent Car proposed twelve specific actions in three 
domains  called  pillars:  Co-ordination  and  support  of  the  work  of  the  relevant  stakeholders 
through the eSafety Forum, Research and Technological Development (R&D) and Awareness 
raising  actions.  These  actions  aim  at  accelerating  the  development  and  deployment  of  ICT 
based Intelligent Vehicle Systems in Europe.  

Considerable progress has been achieved in all three areas, and the Intelligent Car Initiative is 
already the reference initiative in Europe and recognised internationally. This Communication 
reports on progress in these actions, proposes new measures, and seeks further support of the 
Member  States  and  the  Industry  for  their  prompt  implementation,  complementing  the  other 
aspects  of  the  integrated  approach  for  achieving  safety  and  environment  objectives,  notably 
measures linked to infrastructure and driver behaviour.  

2. 

PROGRESS TOWARDS SAFER, CLEANER AND SMARTER VEHICLES IN EUROPE 

The Intelligent Vehicle Systems already available today can lead to further reductions in the 
number of fatalities, important relief of congestion in cities and inter-urban corridors as well 
as  significant  reductions  in  pollutant  emissions  and  greenhouse  gases.  The  Intelligent  Car 
Initiative will continue to use its three pillars in order to support the deployment of intelligent 
mobility in Europe. 

2.1. Towards Safer Vehicles 

2.1.1 Full-scale roll-out of pan-European eCall by 2010 

One  of  the  main  goals  of  the  eSafety  Forum  is  the  full-scale  roll-out  of  eCall9  (the  pan-
European  in-vehicle  emergency  call)  by  2010.  In  case  of  an  accident,  the  eCall  system  will 
automatically  call  the  emergency  services  and  provide  them  with  the  exact  location  of  the 
vehicle and other information about the accident and vehicle occupants. When fully deployed, 
eCall could save up to 2,500 lives every year in Europe.  

The European Parliament has given its full support to eCall10, asking all stakeholders to take 
the  necessary  actions  immediately  for  implementing  eCall,  including  the  signature  of  the 
eCall Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Signing the MoU is voluntary and gives a clear 
commitment  and  support  to  the  timely  implementation  of  eCall.  Nine  Member  States  and 
three  Associate  States  have  signed  the  MoU11,  while  several  more  are  preparing  to  sign. 
Considering the Member States' commitment to eCall, the Commission will start negotiations 

7 COM(2006) 59  
8 COM(2007) 146  
9 COM(2005)431 and COM(2006) 723  
10Report of the EP on Road safety: bringing eCall to citizens: ref. A6-0072/2006,  
11 Finland, Sweden, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Cyprus, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland 

(situation end August 2007) 

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on the voluntary agreement on the inclusion of eCall as a standard option in all new vehicles 
from 2010 in the second semester of 2007. The Member States who have not yet signed the 
MoU should take immediate steps to do so. Depending on the progress, appropriate regulatory 
steps on the implementation of eCall may be envisaged in 2008.  

The eCall Driving Group12 adopted the final recommendations, which were endorsed in May 
2006 by the eSafety Forum and included requirements for eCall standardisation. The progress 
in  ETSI13  has,  however,  been  very  slow  due  to  the  proposal  of  a  proprietary  solution  as  an 
alternative to a European open standard.  

The required accuracy of the location information and the needed coverage implies the use of 
Global Navigation Satellite Service (GNSS), using GPS and in the near future the European 
Satellite Navigation Systems Galileo14 which will offer even greater accuracy and availability. 

2.1.2.  Making ESC widely available in new cars 

Electronic  Stability  Control  (ESC)  is  a  vehicle  safety  technology  that  can  avoid  crashes  by 
reducing  the  danger  of  skidding,  which  is  the  principle  cause  of  at  least  40%  of  fatal  road 
accidents. According to EuroNCAP15, 4,000 lives each year on Europe’s roads could be saved 
if all cars had Electronic Stability Control, and 100,000 serious accidents could be avoided.16 
The challenge currently in Europe is that availability of ESC in new cars is still low, 40% in 
EU-25  in  2005,  and  varies  greatly  from  market  to  market  due  to  the  differing  commercial 
strategies amongst manufacturers and varied support from authorities (85 % in Sweden, 31% 
in Italy). Where ESC is offered as an option for a new car, it is often bundled with additional 
and expensive options. This commercial practice used by many car producers tends to inhibit 
the take up of ESC in smaller cars.  

In  the  US  the  National  Highway  Traffic  Safety  organisation  proposed  a  regulation  in 
September 2006 that would require all manufacturers to begin equipping passenger vehicles 
with  ESC,  starting  with  the  2009  model  year.  In  the  2012  model  year  ESC  will  become 
mandatory on all new cars for the US market.  

In Europe the target is to achieve 100% availability of ESC as well for the model year 2012. 
Europe has so far advocated a voluntary approach, addressing specifically user demand as a 
faster way to market. An international agreement on Global Technical Regulation, including 
the  technical  requirements  of  ESC,  is  being  negotiated  along  with  the  US  as  a  preparation 
phase for the installation of ESC into new passenger cars. Concerning heavy vehicles, there is 
a  proposal  for  provisions  for  ESC  to  be  implemented  into  the  UNECE17  Regulation  13  that 
will  most  probably  enter  into  force  in  autumn  2008.  eSafetyAware!18  is  a  communication 
platform  seeking  to  accelerate  the  market  introduction  of  intelligent  car  technologies  by 
organising information campaigns and end-user events. It is an independent members' forum, 
chaired  by  FIA  Foundation19  and  co-sponsored  by  the  European  Commission.  The  first 

12 http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/esafety/forum/ecall/index_en.htm 
13 European Telecommunications Standards Institute 
14 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/galileo/index_en.htm 
15 European New Car Assessment Programme, http://www.euroncap.com 
16 http://www.chooseesc.eu/en/media/information_about_the_campaign_/ 
17 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Transport Division, Working Party 29 
18www.esafetyaware.eu/  
19 www.fiafoundation.com 

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campaign  of  eSafetyAware!,  currently  in  progress,  is  on  ESC.  The  official  opening  of  the 
campaign took place in May 2007.  

Finally, the Commission will launch in 2007 an internet consultation on how to speed up the 
availability of ESC on a wide range of vehicles, including its mandatory equipment.  

2.1.3 Accelerating the take-up of systems for accident avoidance (ADAS)  

ICTs are the core components of preventative and active safety systems, which provide real 
time  assistance  to  the  driver  so  that  accidents  can  be  avoided  and  their  consequences 
mitigated.  

For  example,  a  recent  study  suggested  that  if  passenger  car  drivers  have  an  additional  0.5-
second warning time, about 60% of rear-end collisions can be prevented. An extra second of 
warning time could prevent about 90% of rear-end collisions. A simulator-based study from 
the same manufacturer20 reported that rear-end crashes at 80 km/h could be reduced by 75% 
with  brake  assist21  and  crash  avoidance  technology.  The  Commission  will  consult  on 
proposals  for  the  mandatory  fitting  of  systems  combining  brake  assist  and  crash  avoidance 
technology in 2007. Vision enhancement systems22 that include adaptive headlights have the 
potential  to  reduce  30%  of  pedestrian  fatalities  and  15%  of  cyclist  fatalities  according  to  a 
study in Sweden23.  

Despite  this  great  potential,  the  results  of  the  eSafety  Forum  Road  Maps  Working  Group24 
and  the  preliminary  results  of  the  eIMPACT25  project  indicate  that  if  nothing  is  done,  the 
penetration  rates  for  intelligent  car  systems  and  applications  will  be  very  low  in  relation  to 
their  life-saving  potential.  The  eSafety  Forum  has  adopted  recommendations  to  all 
stakeholders for accelerating the take-up of these accident avoidance technologies and should 
actively promote the development of these recommendations into a realistic roll-out plan by 
the end of 2008. 

2.1.4 Removing market implementation bottlenecks 

A key event of the first pillar of Intelligent Car in 2007 was the eSafety Workshop organised 
by  the  German  Presidency  in  Berlin  on  5-6  June.  The  conclusions  of  this  Workshop  give 
valuable  guidance  in  the  implementation  of  European-level  Real-time  Traffic  and  Travel 
Information (RTTI) and eCall services, and in tackling the Human Machine Interaction (HMI) 
and legal issues26. 

The eSafety Forum endorsed the European Code of Practice for the development and testing 
of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) produced by RESPONSE27. ADAS support 
drivers  and  can  help  in  avoiding  accidents  or  mitigating  their  consequences.  Unfortunately 
several  legal  barriers  like  liability  are  slowing  down  the  take-up  of  these  systems.  The 

20 Daimler-Chrysler Hightech Report issue 2/2005 
21 Maximise the braking potential of the vehicle, reducing stopping distances 
22  Provides  an  improved  view  of  the  vehicles  path  by  projecting  a  better  view  of  the  visual  field  during  poor 

visibility conditions 

23 Short description of ITS safety application and their potential safety benefits, Lind et al. (2003) 
24www.esafetysupport.org/en/esafety_activities/esafety_working_groups/implementation_road_map.htm 
25www.eimpact.info 
26 www.esafetysupport.org 
27 www.prevent-ip.org  

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RESPONSE  project  produced  a  Code  of  Practice  for  an  accelerated  market  introduction  of 
ADAS.  This  will  help  manufacturers  to  introduce  new  safety  applications  through  an 
integrated  perspective  on  human,  system  and  legal  aspects.  The  Code  of  Practice  is  in  the 
process of being adopted by the automotive industry.  

Data privacy has to be properly addressed to ensure users trust and confidence in in-vehicle 
telematics  systems.  The  Commission  organised  a  workshop  with  European  data  protection 
officers  in  February  2007.  On  the  basis  of  the  Workshop,  the  eSafety  Forum  will  prepare  a 
code of practice in 2007.  

To  investigate  the  security  needs  of  in-vehicle  controls  systems  and  communications,  the 
eSafety Forum established a new Working Group on eSecurity in January 2007. Its goal is to 
provide recommendations regarding the research needs in networks, architecture, systems & 
components  and  their  interaction,  and  to  investigate  legal  provisions  and  standardisation 
needs.  

The Intelligent Car Communication referred to incentives as a possible means for speeding up 
the deployment of intelligent vehicle systems. In their report on the Mid Term Review of the 
European Road Safety Action Programme28, the European Parliament calls on Member States 
to ensure that incentives are not just confined to reducing emissions but also cover vehicles 
safety  features.  The  eSafety  Forum  has  investigated  the  possibility  of  introducing  incentive 
schemes at national level to support the purchase of vehicles equipped with advanced safety 
functions. This work shows that the introduction of tax incentives at national level is possible, 
in line with community state aid legislation, and that it could speed up market implementation 
of  these  life-saving  technologies.  Considering  the  great  potential  of  such  schemes,  concrete 
proposals for their implementation will be investigated by the Commission, in the framework 
of the ITS deployment roadmap. 

So far, demonstrations have been used to test the technical and functional behaviour of ICT 
based systems, but they have often been restricted and limited in scale. What is needed is an 
analysis and assessment in a real environment with everyday drivers for a period of time that 
allows for the collection and processing of data in a statistically sound way. This is the idea of 
Field Operational Tests, FOTs. Work on FOTs has started with FP7 first call for the ramping 
up of FOTs, and will be continued in further calls.  

One of the main reasons for the slow take-up of Intelligent Vehicle Systems is considered to 
be  the  consumer's  lack  of  demand.  This  is  why  the  Commission  intends  to  strengthen  the 
Intelligent  Car  awareness  pillar  by  working  with  eSafetyAware!  on  further  campaigns,  by 
setting up a dedicated web portal and by promoting the production of targeted documentaries 
and other awareness raising actions through appropriate support instruments in FP7. 

ACTIONS FOR SAFER VEHICLES: 

(1) 

(2) 

The Member States who have not yet signed the Memorandum of Understanding for 
eCall should complete the signature process by the end of 2007. 

The Member States should carry out pilot tests of eCall in the 2007-2008 timeframe, 
and upgrade their emergency rescue infrastructures to handle eCalls by 2010. 

28 http://ec.europa.eu/transport/transport_policy_review/index_en.htm 

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

The  European  standardisation  organisations  ETSI  and  CEN29  should  complete  the 
standards  needed  for  the  roll-out  of  the  pan-European  eCall  by  mid-2008.  The 
Member  States  and  industry  should  work  jointly  in  achieving  these  standards  in  this 
time frame. 

The European Commission will, as foreseen, start negotiations with ACEA30, JAMA31 
and KAMA32 on the voluntary inclusion of the eCall device as a standard option in all 
new vehicles starting from 2010, and will report on the outcome by mid-2008. 

Depending on the progress of the above-mentioned measures, new regulatory actions 
on the implementation of eCall may be envisaged in 2008. 

The  Commission will launch a consultation in 2007 on further steps to speed up the 
wide  availability  of  ESC  on  a  wide  range  of  vehicles  including  as  mandatory 
equipment.  

As  part  of  the  ITS  deployment  roadmap,  the  Commission  will  produce  a  set  of 
guidelines  on  incentives  for  intelligent  vehicle  systems  by  mid-2008,  which  will 
explore the possibility for Member States to introduce such tax schemes and set up a 
road  map  for  the  implementation  of  incentive  schemes  in  line  with  community 
legislation on taxes and on state aid. 

The  Commission  will  launch  Field  Operational  Tests  (FOT's)  within  FP7  by  mid-
2008. The Commission will ensure an integrated approach to the building up, running 
and evaluation of FOT's in Europe and the co-ordination with the Member States.  

The  Commission  will  work  together  with  the  eSafetyAware!  platform  in  setting  up 
further campaigns after ChooseESC!, set up an Intelligent Car web portal and promote 
the production of targeted documentaries on Intelligent Car systems. 

2.2. 

Towards Cleaner Vehicles 

2.2.1 Assessing the role of ICT in relation to the Community's climate change objectives 

The growing demand for mobility represents a challenge for the environmental policies of the 
European Union.  

Some  important  progress  has,  however,  been  made.  For  instance,  harmful  emissions  from 
road transport have declined significantly in the last few years. Car usage is, however, still a 
significant source of greenhouse gases, representing around 12% of the overall EU emissions 
33.  Concerning  energy  consumption,  transport  is  responsible  for  30%  of  total  energy 
of  CO2
consumption  and  71%  of  all  oil  consumption  in  the  EU,  with  road  transport  accounting  for 
60%34.  

29 European Committee for Standardisation 
30 European Automobile Manufacturers Association 
31 Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association 
32 Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association  
33 COM(2007) 22 and COM(2007)19  
34 COM(2006) 314  

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In February 200735, the Commission adopted a revised strategy in order to deliver the long-
standing  EU  objective  of  120  g  CO2/km  through  an  Integrated  Approach.  The  proposed 
legislative  framework36  focuses  on  mandatory  reductions  of  emissions  of  CO2  to  reach  the 
objective  of  130  g/km  for  the  average  new  car  fleet,  by  means  of  improvements  in  vehicle 
motor  technology,  and  a  further  reduction  of  10  g/km  of  CO2  or  equivalent  if  technically 
necessary,  by  other  technological  improvements  (low  resistance  tyres  and  tyre  pressure 
monitoring,  air  conditioning,  gear  shift  indicators,  light  commercial  vans),  and  by  an 
increased use of bio-fuels. 

In  addition  to  the  EU  strategy  focusing  on  improvements  in  vehicles,  the  Intelligent  Car 
Initiative,  through  the  eSafety  Forum,  is  proposing  a  new  way  to  contribute  to  improving 
energy efficiency and reducing emissions. This approach not only addresses the vehicle, but 
the road transport system as a whole. In the framework of the eSafety Forum, a new Working 
Group  on  "ICT  for  clean  and  efficient  mobility"  was  created  in  2006.  Its  main  aim  is  to 
contribute  to  the  Commission  work  on  the  methodology  to  quantify  the  impact  of  ICT's  on 
CO2  reduction  in  the  road  transport  sector.  If  appropriate,  this  could  be  followed  by  an 
assessment  of  the  role  of  ICT  and  intelligent  cars  in  relation  to  the  Community's  climate 
change objectives. 

2.2.2 Plans for most efficient technologies for clean vehicles  

As  several  research  projects  have  already  demonstrated,  ICT  based  systems  have  a 
considerable  potential  impact  on  cleaner  and  more  efficient  mobility  and  can  potentially  be 
offered as an additional tool to reduce CO2 in the EU. For example, Adaptive Cruise Control 
(ACC) leads to overall fuel reduction of 3%37. Another study found that the fuel consumption 
was reduced by 8.5% and pollution by 8 to18% when only 10% of the vehicles were equipped 
with ACC, without harmful effects on the traffic flow38. The modern Urban Traffic Control 
systems can lead to up to 30% less delays and up to 13% increase of vehicles mean speed, by 
better traffic management, resulting in less fuel consumption and emissions.39.  

After  the  development  of  the  methodology  for  measuring  the  impact  of  ICTs  on  CO2,  the 
European Commission in consultation with the stakeholders will develop an implementation 
plan  for  the  most  effective  ICT  technologies,  for  both  the  vehicles,  the  road  and  the  IT 
infrastructure. 

ACTIONS FOR CLEANER VEHICLES: 

(10)  The  ICT  for  clean  mobility  Working  Group  should  contribute  to  the  work  of  the 
Commission by identifying the potential benefits of ICT systems in the area of cleaner 
and more energy-efficient mobility of people and goods in Europe and by proposing a 
methodology for measuring the impact of ICT in reducing CO2 emissions by 2008. 

(11)  Based  on  this  input,  the  Commission  will  address,  with  the  help  of  the  other 
stakeholders,  the  best  way  forward  to  roll-out  the  most  effective  ICT  low-CO2 

35 COM(2007) 22 
36 COM(2007)19 
37 G. Bootsma; L. Dekker, Rijkswaterstraat, NL, Road to the Future, April 2007 
38 http://repositories.cdlib.org/its/path/reports/UCB-ITS-PRR-2001-13/ 
39 http://www.smart-nets.napier.ac.uk/finalbrochure_120804.pdf 

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technologies for both the vehicles and the infrastructure. This input will be reflected in 
the 2008 ITS deployment roadmap. 

2.3. 

Towards Smarter Vehicles 

2.3.1 Assuring safer use and standardised interfaces for nomadic devices40  

Vehicle information and communication systems must be reliable, easy to use and safe. They 
must  also  respect  data  privacy.  One  key  area  of  the  intelligent  Car  has  been  improving  the 
Human-Machine Interaction, HMI. In December 2006, the Commission adopted an update of 
the  European  Statement  of  Principles  on  in-vehicle  information  and  communication 
systems41.  In  the  time-frame  2006-2008,  the  Commission  will  closely  monitor  its 
implementation. 

The last few years have seen a proliferation of navigation devices in Europe. The market for 
embedded in-car navigation devices is growing steadily, while there has been a real explosion 
in Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) and Smart Phones with navigation, where the market 
grew from 3.8 million devices in 2005 to over 9 million in 2006. Underpinning this take-up is 
the RTD funding of the EU's Framework Programmes.  

This development is in principle positive, but it brings with it two challenges: 

–  Safe use and safe fixing of retro fitted devices in the in-vehicle environment 

–  Interface with the in-vehicle systems 

The Commission will work closely with relevant stakeholders to address those challenges and 
to  improve  the  road  safety  performance  of  these  devices  in  line  with  the  transport  policy 
targets.  

2.3.2 Cooperative Systems for safer and more efficient transport  

Co-operative  Systems  are  based  on  Vehicle-to-Vehicle  and  Vehicle  to  Infrastructure 
communications  for  the  real  time  transfer  of  information.  They  hold  the  promise  of  major 
improvements in the efficiency of the transport system, in the safety of all road users and in 
making  mobility  more  comfortable.  The  work  on  the  Co-operative  Systems  was  started  in 
Europe  under  the  5th  and  6th  Framework  Programmes.  The  industry  has  established  the 
Car2Car consortia42, promoting a common industry-wide approach. The key prerequisites and 
major  Commission  objectives  are  the  development  of  harmonised  and  interoperable  system 
architecture, a common Communications Architecture serving both public sector and private 
sector  needs,  and  the  availability  of  adequate  spectrum.  To  this  purpose,  the  FP6  funded 
support  action  COMeSafety43  has  established  a  Communications  Architecture  Task  Force. 
This  Task  Force  co-ordinates  and  consolidates  the  work  of  European  and  national  projects 
along with other key initiatives, and acts as an interface to the standardisation ongoing in ISO 
and other standardisation bodies.  

40 Portable devices used in the car by a driver for support, assistance, communication or entertainment, 
41 Recommendation of 22 December 2006 2007/78/EC 
42 www.car-to-car.org 
43 www.comesafety.org 

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Co-operative  Systems  require  further  investments  in  R&D.  In  line  with  the  ERTRAC 
Strategic  Agenda44,  the  eSafety  Forum  adopted  a  Strategic  Research  Agenda  in  December 
2006 in the area of ICT for mobility, which highlights these R&D needs and sets the basis for 
future research in this field. 

Co-operative  Systems  require  spectrum  for  short-range,  low-latency  communications.  The 
industry  has  requested  a  band  in  the  5.9  GHz  range,  which  is  being  discussed  in  the  Radio 
Spectrum Committee45. The Commission is supporting the industry's requirements, due to the 
socio-economic benefits of Co-Operative Systems. 

ACTIONS FOR SMARTER VEHICLES: 

(12)  The Commission encourages the relevant stakeholders to work together in developing 
proposals for safe use and fixing of nomadic devices, and to establish a standardised 
interface  between  the  in-vehicle  systems  and  the  brought-in  devices.  The  European 
Commission  will  use  this  input  to  come  forward  with  the  appropriate  actions  in  the 
2008 ITS deployment roadmap.  

(13)  The  stakeholders  should  work  towards  an  open,  pan-European,  standardised  and 
interoperable Communications Architecture for Co-operative Systems in Europe.  

(14)  The Commission will continue to support further R&D under the ICT priority on Co-

operative Systems in the time frame 2009-2010. 

(15)  The Commission will continue to work with the Radio Spectrum Committee in solving 
the remaining issues for the harmonisation and the allocations of ITS spectrum for Co-
operative Systems in the frequency range 5.9 GHz. 

3. 

CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS 

The  Intelligent  Car  Initiative  builds  on  three  pillars  for  promoting  Intelligent  Vehicle 
Systems: the eSafety Forum, R&D and User Awareness. During the course of the first year of 
the  Intelligent  Car  Initiative,  considerable  progress  has  been  made  in  all  three  areas  This 
Communication reinforces the i2010 Intelligent Car Flagship Initiative by revisiting the steps 
that  stakeholders,  Member  States  and  the  Commission  are  taking  in  order  to  achieve  safer, 
cleaner and smarter vehicles and mobility in Europe. The Commission will continue to follow 
the deployment of these actions and produce regular reports on the state of implementation.  

The  development  of  the  ITS  deployment  roadmap  integrating  vehicles  and  infrastructures, 
will be a major EC led initiative to develop consensus amongst the stakeholders for roll-out of 
ITS as announced in the 2006 review of the White Paper on European Transport Policy. This 
will  be  published  in  summer  2008  following  a  consultation  with  stakeholders  that  is 
envisaged to start in autumn this year. 

44 www.ertrac.org 
45 http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/radio_spectrum/activities/rsc_work/index_en.htm 

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