COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions EUROPE ON THE MOVE An agenda for a socially fair transition towards clean, competitive and connected mobility for all
Date: 2017-05-31
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: clean technology, common transport policy, innovation, intelligent transport system, prevention of pollution, reduction of gas emissions, sustainable mobility, technological change, transport infrastructure, transport network

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.5.2017  SWD(2017) 177 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions EUROPE ON THE MOVE  An agenda for a socially fair transition towards clean, competitive and connected mobility for all {COM(2017) 283 final}  
 
 
1. 

Investment and finance to support clean and connected mobility ............................. 3 

1.1 

Investment challenges ....................................................................................................... 3 

1.2  EU funding support ........................................................................................................... 3 

2. 

Preparing people for changes with the necessary skills .............................................. 8 

3.  Research and Innovation ................................................................................................ 9 

3.1  Short-term 2018-2020 perspectives .................................................................................. 9 

3.1.1  Clean transport - Horizon 2020 calls for proposals .......................................................... 9 
3.1.2  Connected and automated transport - Horizon 2020 calls for proposals ........................ 11 

3.2  Looking into the future: long-term perspective for mobility .......................................... 12 

4.  Digitalisation .................................................................................................................. 13 

5.  Governance, cities and partnerships for effective action .......................................... 16 

5.1  The trans-European network for better delivery ............................................................. 16 

5.2  Cities and the Urban Agenda for the EU ........................................................................ 17 

6. 

7. 

External dimension ....................................................................................................... 18 

Batteries ......................................................................................................................... 19 

7.1 

 Europe faces challenges in batteries cells developments ............................................... 19 

7.2  Better coordination of existing instruments .................................................................... 20 

7.3  Tapping the potential of circular economy ..................................................................... 22 

8.  Alternative fuels infrastructure ................................................................................... 23 

9.  Cooperative, connected and automated driving ........................................................ 24 

9.1  Europe already supports connected, cooperative and automated mobility ..................... 24 

9.2  Future  efforts:  liability  issues  and  convergence  between  automated  and  cooperative 
systems ............................................................................................................................ 26 

2 

 
 
Introduction 

Traditional transport systems are being shaken up and remodelled by important changes in our 
societies.  A  more  urban  European  population  is  growing  and  aging,  changing  the  needs, 
expectations  and  demands  for  mobility.  Rapidly  developing  mobile  information  and 
communication  technologies  and  penetration  of  new  players  into  the  transport  sector  are 
giving rise to the emergence of new mobility services and systems. Transport technologies are 
evolving under the pressure for the sector to become safer, smarter and cleaner. New societal 
(collaborative  economy),  technological  (self-driving  cars)  and  economic  changes  have 
impacts on the transport system as a whole.  

Effective facilitating measures are necessary at EU level to support policies for the adaptation 
of the transport system to the many challenges and trends described in the Communication on 
clean,  connected  and  competitive  mobility.1  This  document  describes  the  many  ongoing 
activities  and  the  future  actions  to  facilitate  this  transition,  which  provide  an  important 
contribution  to  the  Commission's  comprehensive  agenda  for  mobility  presented  in  the 
Communication.   

1. 

Investment and finance to support clean and connected mobility  

1.1 

Investment challenges 

Europe  still largely relies on infrastructure rolled out  over a period that spans two centuries 
and  that  is  in  permanent  need  of  maintenance,  repair,  upgrading  and  expansion.  New 
requirements  on  safety,  connectivity  and  availability  of  charging  infrastructure  will  further 
increase investment needs. Around EUR 740 billion is needed to deliver the Core Network 
for  Transport,  supporting  both  digitalisation  and  decarbonisation.2  This  is  the  essential 
European infrastructure network not only allowing people to travel and goods to be delivered 
but also using the most environmentally friendly modes of transport.  

1.2 

EU funding support 

EU funds play an important role in supporting mobility (mostly in rail and road), in particular 
in  those Member States and regions where the investments needs are high and the financial 
resources limited, as well as for cross-border projects where Member States traditionally see 
less appeal for funding.  

For the 2014-2020 period, regional policy is the main source of EU co-financing for transport 
investments.  Around  EUR  70  billion  have  been  programmed  in  the  Cohesion  Fund  and 
European Regional Development Fund to support investments in the field of mobility and 
transport. Over 200 investment and cooperation programmes, covering all EU Member States, 
are supporting not only investment projects but also a close cooperation between the relevant 
actors, across borders and across the different levels  of government. Throughout the Union, 

1   COM(2017) 283 
2  Work 
plans 

of 

the 

European 

Coordinators 

for 

the 

TEN-T 

core 

network: 

https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/infrastructure/ten-t-guidelines/corridors_en 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
 
and  particularly  in  the  less-developed  Member  States  and  regions,  Cohesion  Fund  and/or 
European Regional Development Fund co-financing is available to support national, regional 
and local actors in the implementation of projects that will deliver on EU objectives for clean, 
competitive and connected mobility on the ground, such as the installation of alternative fuel 
infrastructure or the deployment of digital transport solutions. 

The extension of the Sofia metro line 3: the project includes a new section of metro line which has a 
length  of  7.8  km,  eight  metro  stations  and  one  depot,  as  well  as  the  supply  of  the  necessary  rolling 
stock (20 metro trains). This project will considerably increase the quality of public transport services 
in Sofia, offering an attractive and sustainable alternative to private car use.3 

In  Krakow,  the  Cohesion  Fund  finances  the  purchase  of  35  modern  and  energy-efficient  low-floor 
trams.  The  purchased  trams  will  contain  modern  passenger  information  systems  as  well  as  ticket 
vending machines. The investment will improve the quality of public transport services in Krakow and 
make  them  more  accessible  for  people  with  reduced  mobility.4  In  Bratislava,  it  supported  the 
purchase  of  120  electric  trolleybuses,  with  energy  recuperation.  The  project  contributes  to  the 
achievement  of  a  modal  shift  from  private  cars  to  public  transport,  thus  improving  the  urban 
environment and the quality of life.5  

Environmentally  friendly  mobility  in  Latvia:  supported  by  the  ERDF,  this  project  supports  the 
establishment of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles to create a country-wide Latvian network 
of  150  electric  vehicles  charging  outlets  in  line  with  the  EU’s  alternative  fuel  infrastructure 
requirements. It will also improve the quality of life in cities and towns where air pollution resulting 
from traffic congestion is a growing health concern.6 

The CROCODILE 2 is an EU project/programme involving public authorities, road administrations 
and traffic information service providers, whose objective is to ensure coordinated traffic management 
and control resulting in higher quality traveller information services. Partners from Austria, Bulgaria, 
Croatia,  Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece,  Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania,  Slovakia and 
Slovenia  are  working  together  to  improve  cross-border  traffic  and  transport  through  implementing 
harmonised  and  synchronised  applications  for  Intelligent  Transport  Systems  (ITS).  The  Action  will 
directly contribute to the provision of road safety-related minimum universal traffic information free 
of charge to users, as well as the provision of information services for safe and secure parking places 
for  trucks  and  commercial  vehicles.  In  addition,  CROCODILE  2  will  contribute  to  the  provision  of 
EU-wide real-time traffic information services.7  

The EU-ITS Platform is an EU-funded project which has been used by EU Member States with great 
success for decades as a necessary means to alleviate problems caused by the increasing demand for 
road  transport  while  using  existing  infrastructures.  Ensuring  continuity  of  high  quality  ITS  services 
across Europe requires harmonisation of existing and future ITS services. By monitoring, evaluating 
and disseminating results from the ITS Road Corridor projects, the EU ITS Platform can be considered 
as the technical European ITS "Knowledge Management Centre".8 

The Connecting Europe Facility ("CEF") for transport, with funds of about EUR 24 billion 
over the period 2014-2020, is financing large and complex projects. So far, under the calls for 

3  Total value of EUR 521 million and co-financing from the ERDF of almost EUR 370 million. 
4  This  project  has  a  total  volume  of  EUR  73  million,  with  EUR  29  million  co-financed  from  the  Cohesion 

Fund. 

5  The total value of the project is EUR 60,928,060 and the CF co-financing EUR 49,199,408. 
6  The total investment is EUR 7,835,300 with an ERDF contribution of EUR 6,660,000. 
7  Start date: January 2015 - End date: December 2018. Budget:  Estimated total cost of the action: €41,285,000 

- Maximum EU contribution:  € 8, 257,000 - Percentage of EU support: 20%. 
Implementation schedule: Start date July 2015 - End date: December 2020. 

8 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
proposals launched in 2014 and 2015, the CEF has co-funded 452 projects for a total amount 
of EUR 19.4 billion in grants. This represents a total investment of EUR 37.7 billion. These 
calls  for  proposals  showed  the  very  strong  demand  for  CEF  funding,  with  1,087  eligible 
projects requesting EUR 45.1 billion, i.e. 2.5 times the indicative budget.  

The 2016 CEF call for proposals, with a budget of EUR 1.94 billion, was closed in February 
2017. The selected proposals are expected to be announced in early July 2017. There has been 
significant interest, with 349 proposals received representing oversubscription of 3.9 times the 
budget available.  

The CEF Blending Call launched in February 2017 seeks to combine EUR 1 billion of CEF 
grants  or  CEF  financial  instruments  with  financing  from  public  financial  institutions,  the 
private  sector  and/or,  for  the  first  time,  support  under  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investments. This first ever combination of funds will help to achieve the twin objectives of 
boosting  investment  to  fund  innovative,  sustainable  transport  infrastructure  upgrades  while 
supporting the jobs needed to put that infrastructure into place. The outcome of this call is still 
pending; however a significant number of project promoters are signalling their interest and 
some are already engaging with the European Investment Advisory Hub for support .9  

Progress  is  needed  in  providing  widespread  deployment  of  alternative  fuel  infrastructure 
throughout  the  EU.  Ensuring  sufficient  coverage  of  public  charging  infrastructure  alongside 
the TEN-T core network is estimated to cost EUR 1.5 billion in the future.10  By 2020, over 
one thousand of such fuelling points will have received grant support and by 2025 most of the 
core  network  is  expected  to  be  equipped.  The  scarce  grant  support  under  the  Connecting 
Europe Facility has been given entirely to environmentally friendly transport modes, mostly 
rail, and the greening of transport. These are productive investments that should be made as a 
matter of priority. 

To promote larger uptake of cars running on alternative fuels, high quality, easily accessible 
infrastructure  has  to  be  rolled-out  quickly.  The  national  policy  frameworks  submitted  by 
Member States so far (20 Member States) estimated the cost at EUR 850 million to EUR 900 
million for funding the publicly accessible recharging points for electric mobility.  

The  FastEvNet  is  an  EU  project  that  combines  a  study  with  an  integrated  pilot  implemented  in 
Slovakia and Poland along the North Sea-Baltic, Baltic-Adriatic, Orient/East-Med and Rhine–Danube 
TEN-T  Core  Network  Corridors.  FastEvNet  will  deploy  10  multi-standard  fast  charging  stations  for 
electric  vehicles  in  Slovakia  and  75  in  Poland.  Three  of  them  include  battery  storage  to  cover  peak 
demand.  The  project  benefits  from  a  CEF  grant  amounting  to  nearly  EUR  3.3  million.  Expected  in 
March  2019, the outcomes of the  pilot and business models will  be  studied  so as to facilitate future 
larger deployments of fast-charging infrastructure. FastEvNet is part of a global project which builds 
on several ongoing European transport network actions in Eastern Europe to contribute to roll-out of 
alternative fuels.  

9  The  European  Investment  Advisory  Hub  offers  360  degree  advisory  and  technical  assistance.  Project 
promoters, public authorities and private companies can receive technical support to help get their projects 
off the ground, make them investment-ready or get advice on suitable funding sources. The Hub has already 
dealt with more than 430 requests. 

10  Clean Power for Transport Infrastructure Deployment – Final report, Steer Davies Gleeve, 2015. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
  
Over  95%  of  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  transport  budget  will  be  allocated  in  summer 
2017  when  the  2016  call  and  the  blending  call  will  be  evaluated.  As  regards  the  cohesion 
envelope  of  CEF,  the  vast  majority  of  the  15  cohesion  countries  will  have  allocated  the 
entirety of their national envelopes with the 2016 call, which focusses on sustainable transport 
development  along  the  TEN-T  core  network.  Still,  further  thoughts  should  be  given  to 
optimise  the  full  use  of  the  CEF,  by  increasing  the  possibilities  for  synergies  between  the 
CEF sectors. A first synergy call was organised at the end of 2016 between the transport and 
energy  components  of  the  CEF.  Limited  strictly  to  projects  that  are  defined  as  of  common 
interest in the TEN-E and are situated on the TEN-T, it produced a good but limited turnout 
and only slightly more than half of the EUR 40 million budget could be absorbed in this first 
synergy  call.  It  is  important  to  further  exploit  synergies  between  transport,  energy  and 
telecoms  within  the  CEF  instrument  as  the  infrastructure  for  future  electromobility  or 
connected  mobility  calls  for  infrastructure  that  combines  energy,  transport  and  ICT 
applications.  

The  Cleaner  Transport  Facility  launched  by  the  European  Investment  Bank  and  the 
Commission on 1st December 2016 supports the deployment of new cleaner technologies in 
transport.  After being in place for only a few months, four clean urban mobility projects have 
already been approved:  

  Hydrogen fuel cell trolley buses and associated infrastructure in Riga (Latvia), 
  Six bus lines equipped with hybrid hydrogen buses in Artois-Gohelle (France),  
  Compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in Las Palmas (Spain), 
  Bus rapid transit system in Palma de Mallorca (Spain). 

EFSI - The EUR 195 million Riga Transport Company project consists of the purchase of 20 new 
low-floor  tram  units  to  operate  in  the  city  of  Riga,  and  the  modernisation  of  tramway  infrastructure 
and depot. It also involves the purchase of 10 hydrogen fuel cell  buses and 10 hydrogen trolleys, as 
well as the construction of a hydrogen fuel production and storage facility.11  

As  part  of  the  European  Investment  Advisory  Hub  (EIAH)  services,  the  European  Local 
Energy  Assistance  (ELENA)  for  transport  facility  for  2016/2017  can  support  project 
promoters  with  grant  funding  for  technical  assistance  for  the  preparation  of  sustainable 
investments  in  innovative  transport  and  mobility  solutions.  ELENA  support  has  been  well 
received by European cities and a project pipeline is building up.  

ELENA's first approved transport project is to be signed in May 2017. The project will fund EUR 3.5 
million  worth  of  technical  assistance  in  Amsterdam  to  plan  a  total  investment  of  about  EUR  168 
million  in  70  zero-emission  buses,  new  real-time  travel  information  services  and  an  innovative 
regenerative  braking  system,  which  will  allow  up  to  70%  of  the  metro's  braking  energy  to  be 
recuperated. 

As  of  April  2017,  the  European  Investment  Bank  Board  has  approved  European  Fund  for 
Strategic Investment (EFSI) support  to  36  operations, contributing to transport objectives 
triggering a total EUR 15.2 billion in related investment. This represents around 14 % of the 
EFSI overall investment.  

11  The project was approved on 14 October 2016 for EUR 75 million in EFSI financing. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
EFSI - KSPG AUTOMOTIVE RDI: the project concerns selected research and development (R&D) 
investments to innovate combustion engines contributing to reduced emissions of automotive vehicles. 
It will be of critical importance for European automotive manufacturers in order to address emission 
regulation objectives.12 

EFSI  -  AUTOMOTIVE  STEEL  RDI:  the  project  comprises  investments  in  research,  development 
and  innovation  (RDI)  for  automotive  devices.  It  will  mainly  be  carried  out  in  Germany,  Spain, 
Sweden,  UK  and  France.  The  project  will  be  implemented  in  the  period  2016-2019.  Due  to  the 
promoter's close collaboration with customers and suppliers, the project is also expected to contribute 
to the diffusion of new knowledge.13 

The LIFE programme supports pilot, demonstration, governance and awareness projects and 
in  this  way  complements  the  other  EU  funding  programmes.  It  has  over  the  years  included 
projects related to sustainable transport, such as low emission vehicles, e-mobility, alternative 
fuel,  urban  logistics,  smart  technologies  and  retrofitting,  resulting  in  best  practices  for 
inclusion in Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans and in  Air  Quality Plans to  reduce  pollution.  
Examples include CLEAN AIR and PEHRT projects.  

CLEAN  AIR  is  an  umbrella  project  in  which  nine  European  environmental  NGOs  joined  forces  in 
2012 to support the implementation of the Air Quality directive in the cities of the EU Member States 
and to help improve air quality. The nine project partners put into practice sub-projects in the fields of 
eco-driving,  clean  air  in  ports,  low  emission  zones,  cycling  including  cargo  e-bikes  for  last  mile 
delivery  and  retrofitting  buses  in  public  transport.  All  these  sub-projects  combined  to  help  raise  the 
awareness  of  decision-makers  on  the  problematic  nature  of  poor  air  quality  and  suggested  practical 
solutions that will also often benefit the local economy and employment through green jobs. 

The PEHRT project in Italy tests how ITS can help improve urban logistics, particularly in towns and 
cities with a historic centre, where the impacts of individual and commercial traffic on air quality and 
buildings can be severe. The project is testing a system for delivering multi-modal travel information 
to commuters, visitors and businesses before and during trips. 

The  2017  LIFE  call  for  proposals  includes  a  priority  on  projects  enhancing  consumers' 
empowerment  to  benefit  from  real-world  fuel  consumption  savings  in  cars  and  vans.  This 
initiative, together with the experience gained with the introduction of the new test cycle will 
provide useful insight to  the Commission's ongoing reflection on how to improve consumer 
information  to  allow  them  to  make  informed  purchase  decisions  for  cars  with  low  pollutant 
emissions.14 

[In  the  current  EU  Emissions  Trading  System  trading  period  (which  runs  until  2020),  300 
million  allowances  were  endowed  to  the  New  Entrants  Reserve  (NER)  300  programme15  to 
fund  innovative  renewable  energy  and  carbon,  capture  and  storage  demonstration  projects. 
While  14  projects  have  already  successfully  reached  the  final  investment  decision,  four 
projects from the first call are not going ahead. These non-disbursed NER 300 revenues will 
be channelled via relevant financial instruments managed by the European Investment Bank, 
in  particular  InnovFin  Energy  Demo  Projects  under  Horizon  2020  and  the  Clean  Transport 
Facility's Debt Instrument. Member States in the Climate Change Committee have provided a 
positive opinion on this proposal, which is planned for adoption in autumn 2017, following a 

12  Total cost (approximate amount) EUR 528 million, proposed EIB finance: EUR 250 million. 
13  Total cost (approximate amount) EUR 330 million, proposed EIB finance: EUR 160 million.  
14  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/life2017/index.htm 
15  https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/lowcarbon/ner300_en 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
scrutiny  period  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council.  It  can  be  expected  that  the 
funding will be effectively available for projects towards the end of 2017. 

Nevertheless, the EU funding is only a fraction of the overall financing provided to European 
infrastructure16. Realising these transport investments would require increased private sector 
investments.  

Financing  and  funding  alone  are  not  the  only  answers  to  attract  investment  and  prepare 
projects: the real technical and financial engineering capacity must be catered for, at the level 
of European instruments, but also at the level of national administrations: in the Ministries, in 
regional  and  local authorities  who  hold  the  keys  for  preparing,  launching  and  following  the 
projects.  Regional  policy  supports  this  endeavour  by  providing  Technical  Assistance  and 
guidance  material,  on  issues  like  cost-benefit  analysis  for  major  transport  projects. 
Furthermore,  platforms  and  networks,  like  the  JASPERS  Network,  are  in  place  at  EU  level 
that will facilitate cooperation, coordination, and exchange of experience across the Union. 

2. 

Preparing people for changes with the necessary skills  

The  changes  in  the  automotive  industry  linked  to  digitalisation,  automation  or  cleaner  cars 
require  new  expertise  and  modes  of  working.  By  2025,  the  expected  number  of  new  high-
skilled job openings is expected to stand at 213,000 in the EU.17 Already today, the industry 
faces  tremendous  challenges  to  recruit  staff  with  appropriate  skills:  clean  vehicles  require 
existing  workers  to  acquire  new  skills  in  the  assembly  of  electric  powertrains  (including 
batteries  and  fuel  cells),  computing  or  sensing  equipment  and,  while  the  growth  in 
engineering  jobs  is  expected  to  continue,  software  skills  are  a  new  requirement  that 
companies have to look for.  

Automated driving may also require reskilling in the medium to long-term. This will mostly 
affect  lower  skilled  professions  such  as  truck  drivers.  In  the  future  truck  drivers  may  for 
instance  have  to  carry-out  additional  clerical  tasks  while  navigating  platoons  consisting  of 
several  trucks.  Funds  under  the  COSME  programme  for  supporting  small  and  medium 
enterprises18  can  help  prepare  the  truck  drivers'  profession  for  the  future  of  connected  and 
automated driving. 

Anticipation  of  demand  for  future  skills  within  and  across  sectors,  the  coordination  of  the 
different public and private actors for effective training and education policies, as well as the 
standardisation  of  skills  are  essential  to  ensure  that  this  transition  towards  low-carbon 
development models is not held back by lack of skills.19 

In order to deliver sector-specific skills solutions, the New Skills Agenda for Europe20 has 
launched  the  Blueprint  for  Sectoral  Cooperation  on  Skills  that  is  expected  to  stimulate 
investment, encourage the strategic use of EU and national funding opportunities and develop 

16  During  the  period  2014-2015,  Member  States  provided  for  84  %  of  funding  for  TEN-T,  with  EU 

complementing it with 16 %. 

17  EU  Skills  Panorama  (2014)  Automotive  sector  and  clean  vehicles  Analytical  Highlight,  prepared  by  ICF 

GHK and Cedefop for the European Commission. 

18  https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/cosme_en 
19  https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/strategic-energy-

technology-set-plan-roadmap-education-and-training 

20  COM(2016) 381 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
concrete  actions  to  satisfy  short  and  medium  term  skills  needs  in  support  of  the  overall 
sectoral  strategy.21  Automotive  is  one of the six  pilot  "Blueprint"  sectors for which  funding 
has  been  made  available  through  the  Sector  Skills  Alliance  action  within  the  Erasmus+ 
programme. 

Finally,  the  Commission  launched  in  October  2016  a  three-year  research  project, 
SKILLFUL, which is looking into the skills needed by 2020, 2030 and 2050 in the different 
transport modes to identify which  jobs/professions will disappear and which will be created 
and  how  training  curricula  should  evolve  accordingly.  Based  on  the  outcome  of  the 
SKILLFUL project, it will be possible to assess the adequacy of the training and qualification 
requirements  in  place  for  road  transport  drivers,  in  particular  in  the  light  of  new 
professions/skills. 

The  GEAR  2030  high-level  group  established  by  the  Commission22  is  developing  specific 
recommendations on the skills requirements in the industry.  

3. 

Research and Innovation 

Modernising  the  transport  system  and  making  mobility  more  efficient  and  more  sustainable 
requires  innovative  technologies,  services  concepts  and  business  models.  They  have  to  be 
developed,  tested,  and  successfully  introduced  to  the  market.  Research  and  innovation 
activities are primarily supported through the EU framework programme Horizon 2020 under 
the  “Smart,  Green  and  Integrated  Transport”  challenge  to  boost  the  competitiveness  of  the 
European  transport  industries  and  achieve  a  European  transport  system  that  is  resource-
efficient,  climate-and-environmentally-friendly,  safe  and  seamless  for  the  benefit  of  all 
citizens, the economy and society. The Transport Challenge has been allocated a budget of €6 
339 million for the period 2014-2020. 

Within  the  framework  of  Smart  Specialisation  Strategies,  ERDF  co-financing  provided  for 
research and innovation in areas such as alternative fuels and powertrains for road transport or 
intelligent transport systems.   

3.1 

Short-term 2018-2020 perspectives  

3.1.1  Clean transport - Horizon 2020 calls for proposals 

Rising  carbon  dioxide  emissions,  air  pollution  and  noise,  especially  in  cities,  mean  that  a 
major  shift  is  necessary,  from  today's  combustion  engines  (petrol/diesel)  to  alternative  low 
and  zero  emission  engines  for  most  modes  of  road  transport,  if  the  EU  is  to  achieve  its 
greenhouse gas reduction and air quality targets.  

High  hopes  are  pinned  on  zero  emission  technologies,  particularly  in  the  road  sector. 
However,  the  fleet  renewal  is  still  too  slow  to  solve  the  pressing  air  quality  issues.    The 

21  http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7969 
22  Commission Decision C(2015) 6943 of 19 October 2015. The group will analyse and discuss the key 
trends  which  will  be  affecting  the  automotive  industry  in  the  future  and  come  up  with  jointly  agreed 
roadmaps  that  should  set  objectives,  specify  milestones  and  clearly  define  responsibilities  of  different 
stakeholders on value chains, connected and automated vehicles, trade and investments.  

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
                                                 
scandal surrounding car emissions ("Dieselgate") has caused a crisis in consumer confidence 
towards  information  marketed  about  cars  by  the  industry  itself.  It  is  therefore  important  to 
address  the  impact  of  the  existing  internal  combustion  fleet  and  provide  local  authorities 
and  consumers  with  tools  to  detect  high  emitters;  be  it  due  to  poor  maintenance, 
insufficient durability or tampering by the users, and to obtain accurate information and data 
on  the  basis  of  which  informed  choices  can  be  made  and  infringements  can  be  prosecuted. 
On-board measurement of pollutants can also provide an improved basis for new approaches 
to  regulation  and  changing  behaviour  by,  on  the  one  hand,  showing  how  much  each  driver 
pollutes  while,  on  the  other  hand,  allowing  a  real  "polluter  pays"  approach  to  certification, 
taxation and traffic regulation.  

More than 200 million vehicles with internal combustion engines circulate on European roads 
today,  and  will  continue  to  emit  high  levels  of  pollutants  for  around  another  decade.  The 
Commission has good experience with the organisation of inducement  prizes that offer cash 
rewards to whoever can most effectively meet a defined challenge. The Commission has  for 
instance launched an inducement prize focused on the development of retrofit technologies 
to  clean the existing fleet, thus providing cities with  a means to  reduce emissions  relatively 
fast.  

EUNICE  (Eco-design  and  Validation  of  In-Wheel  Concept  for  Electric  Vehicles)  developed  an 
innovative  electric  motor  that  fits  in  the  wheel,  with  high  performance  and  low  weight.  This  allows 
huge flexibility in vehicle design and could be a stepping stone for highly attractive electric and hybrid 
vehicles in the future 23 

FABRIC  (Feasibility  analysis  and  development  of  on-road  charging  solutions  for  future  electric 
vehicles) explores more futuristic options such as "electric roads" on which electric vehicles would run 
with unlimited range since they would pick up energy from the charging infrastructure under the road 
surface (a first demonstration took place in April 2017).24 

Fuel  cells  and  hydrogen  as  an  efficient  conversion  technology,  and  hydrogen  as  a  clean 
energy  carrier  generated  from  excess  clean  electricity,  have  a  great  potential  to  help  fight 
carbon dioxide and local pollutant emissions, to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons and to 
contribute to economic growth, thereby constituting a triple "win" for Europe. The Fuel Cells 
and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking25 offers an excellent opportunity for generating progress in 
fuel  cells  and  hydrogen  technologies  by  aligning  private  and  public  sectors'  strategies,  in  a 
shared effort to cement Europe's competitive edge. Its future 2018-2020 work programme will 
address  refuelling  infrastructure,  road  vehicles,  non-road  mobile  vehicles  and  machinery 
equipment  as  well  as  inland  waterways,  maritime,  rail  and  aviation  applications.  The 
programme will include hydrogen local ecosystems, demonstration of zero-emission transport 
applications in clean urban and city areas, long distance applications (vessels, trains, trucks, 
and  aviation);  better  understanding  of  market  potential  (and  business  cases/feasibility)  and 
regulation issues, before launching well targeted demonstration activities. 

23  (EUNICE - Project duration: September 2012 to August 2015, EC funding: 2.9 M€, Coordinator: Fundacion 

Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Spain). 

24  (FABRIC  -  Project  duration:  1  January  2014  —  31  December  2017,  EC  funding:  6.5  M€,  Coordinator: 

Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Greece). 

25  http://www.fch.europa.eu/ 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The other public-private partnership, the European Green Vehicles Initiative26 is dedicated 
to  delivering  green  vehicles  and  mobility  solutions  with  a  focus  on  improving  the  energy 
efficiency  of  vehicles  based  on  alternative  powertrains.  The  European  Green  Vehicles 
Initiative  together  with  its  predecessor  in  FP7,  the  European  Green  Cars  Initiative,  has 
supported research on electrified vehicles for a total budget of EUR 483 million (representing 
128  research  projects).  Both  initiatives  have  supported  EU  automotive  manufacturers  to 
successfully  introduce  a  new  generation  of  electrified  vehicles  with  optimized  power-trains 
and  improved  range.  Its  future  calls  will  devote  significantly  increased  attention  to  clean 
technology with the aim of increasing the accessibility and performance of these technologies 
and facilitating their deployment and public acceptance. The EU has also invested significant 
funds in research and development of advanced biofuels.27 

3.1.2  Connected and automated transport - Horizon 2020 calls for proposals 

Within  Horizon  2020,  the  Commission  is  supporting  not  only  technology  research  and 
development but also large-scale cross border trials of automated vehicles with dedicated calls 
on automated road transport and "Internet of Things" for both personal and freight logistics. 
The emphasis of these demonstration projects is to test the reliability and safety of automation 
technologies. SCOUT and CARTRE are both Horizon 2020 projects to support Automated 
Road Transport, and both started in 2016.  

SCOUT  (Safe  and  COnnected  aUtomation  in  road  Transport)  works  on  developing  use  cases  and 
sustainable  business  models  and  will  develop  cross-sectoral  roadmaps  for  the  development  and 
accelerated implementation of safe, cooperative, connected and automated driving in Europe.28 

CARTRE  (Coordination  of  Automated  Road  Transport  Deployment  for  Europe)  will  facilitate  the 
exchange  of  data,  experience  and  knowledge  for  comparing  and  deploying  results  from  pilots  and 
foster a common evaluation framework across the demonstrations. This project is establishing a joint 
stakeholder’s  forum  and  will  support  the  international  collaboration  activities  in  the  area  of  road 
automation, especially with the US and Japan.29  

With the support of CARTRE, the Commission organised a workshop in December 2016 with 
several  EU  Member  States  that  are  undertaking,  or  planning,  larger  scale  public  road  tests 
with automated vehicles. The presentations and exchanges of learning show that larger scale 
testing is in an initial phase, which will be accelerated in 2017 and 2018.  

L3PILOT is an example of an important demonstration pilot project which will start in summer 2017. 
It will focus on large-scale piloting of a wide range of automated driving functions for passenger cars 
(including  parking,  overtaking  and  urban  intersection  driving)  which  will  be  tested  in  11  European 
countries  on  around  100  vehicles  involving  some  1000  test  drivers.  A  large  number  of  car 
manufacturers and other stakeholders from the whole value chain will join forces in pilot testing and 
evaluation of automated driving systems in real traffic conditions with real users.  

AUTOPILOT is an Internet of Things Large Scale Pilot that started in January 2017 and aims at the 
development  and validation of sustainable solutions whereby automated driving cars become part of 

26  http://www.egvi.eu/ 
27  https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/horizon-2020/h2020-energy/projects-by-field/biofuels 
28  (SCOUT  -  Project  duration:  July  2016  –  June  2018,  EC  funding:  EUR  1  million,  Coordinator:  VDI/VDE 

Innovation + Technik GmbH, Germany). 

29  (CARTRE  -  Project  duration:  October  2016  –  September  2018,  EC  funding:  EUR  3  million,  Coordinator: 

ERTICO, Belgium). 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
the  Internet  of  Things.  The  eco-system  will  involve  vehicles,  road  infrastructure  and  surrounding 
objects, with a particular attention to safety critical aspects of automated driving. These cars will be 
tested, in real conditions, at five permanent large scale pilot sites in Finland, France, the Netherlands, 
Italy and Spain.  

Other important large-scale pilots are planned for 2018. They will focus on demonstrating:  

- 

multi-brand truck platooning and fully automated urban transport systems, 

- 
cross-border  convergence  of  cooperative,  connected  and  highly  automated  driving 
technologies,  also  addressing  the  testing  of  the  performance  and  safety  of  these  innovative 
technologies and systems and their integration in the existing mobility system.  

These  actions  will  include  pilot  testing  of  vehicle  fleets,  including  shared  and  automated 
vehicles  for  seamless  door-to-door  mobility  and  freight  delivery  services.  Testing  of 
automation technologies for long distance freight logistics operations going from hub to hub 
on public roads in mixed traffic conditions will also be addressed.  

Demonstration  actions  will  consider  the  optimised  use  of  digital  technologies  such  as  the 
Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data for automation. Common procedures 
for testing, validation and certification of highly automated driving functions in various traffic 
scenarios will also be developed.30  

3.2 

Looking into the future: long-term perspective for mobility 

Major  innovation  can  be  observed  in  the  European  transport  sector.  It  is  the  largest  EU 
spender on research and innovation, supporting a range of world class businesses. In 2016, out 
of the top 20 research and development spenders worldwide, five are automotive companies.31 
Recent years have seen dramatic increases in the speed of evolution of societal requirements 
for  cleaner  transport  with  less  dependence  on  oil  as  well  as  the  start  of  the  cooperative, 
connected  and  automated  mobility  (r)  evolution  allowing  for  new  mobility  services  and 
logistics solutions. According to a number of forecasts and trends within the industry, in the 
next  5  to  10  years  the  sector  will  be  responsible  for  more  innovations  than  in  the  past  fifty 
years.  To  keep  up  with  these  developments  and  provide  European  citizens  with  the  best 
possible  transport  and  mobility  solutions  and  at  the  same  time  ensure  that  European 
enterprises can keep and expand their competitive edge, Europe needs a better framework for 
joint action on transport research and innovation. Ambitious goals for our future transport 
system  can  only  be  achieved  if  new  ideas  and  concepts  can  be  developed,  tested  and 
implemented in close interaction with policy and regulatory agendas.  

Europe needs to improve the innovation ecosystem ranging from basic technology research to 
research  on  new  services  and  business  models  leading  to  social  innovation  (once  widely 
deployed on the market). Public support for the innovation ecosystem should focus on market 
failures for research and innovation as well as innovation-friendly policies, enabling European 
standardisation32 and regulation and financial instruments to boost private sector investment 
in innovation.  

30  Through  the  GEAR2030,  in  convergence  with  the  development  of  C-Roads  Platform  along  the  TEN-T 

corridors and funded through Horizon2020. 

31  European Commission, Industrial R&D Investment scoreboard, 2016. 
32  COM(2016) 763 states that the Commission will make increasing use of the annual Union work programme 

for standardisation in the area of decarbonisation of transport.  

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Seven main areas for long-term action on research and innovation have been identified and 
are presented in another Staff Working Document:33  

1)  Connected and automated transport, 
2)  Electrification, 
3)  Alternative fuels, 
4)  Vehicle design and manufacturing, 
5)  Network and traffic management, 
6)  Smart mobility and services, and 
7)  Infrastructure 

It  is  proposed  to  take  an  integrated  approach  which  addresses  at  the  same  time  the 
digitalisation and decarbonisation of transport via low carbon technologies, the improvement 
of  air  quality,  the  effective  use  of  vehicles,  innovative  transport  infrastructure;  new  and 
inclusive  mobility  services  supported  by  innovative  network  management  and  modern 
infrastructure.  The  Commission  services  have  cooperated  with  stakeholders  to  develop 
innovation roadmaps outlining research and innovation actions to accelerate the development 
and  deployment  of  innovative,  clean,  cooperative,  connected  and  competitive  transport 
technologies  and  mobility  solutions  for  2020,  2030  and  2050  in  the  seven  main  areas 
identified. These contain options for future programmatic tools which will be adjusted to the 
technological  progress  as  the  operative  dates  approach  and  the  overall  picture  becomes 
clearer.  

The  deployment  of  the  strategy  will  need  to  span  decades  and  requires  a  solid  governance 
structure,  involving  EU  institutions,  Member  States,  local  administrations  and  relevant 
stakeholders,  which  can  oversee  the  implementation  of  the  strategy,  ensure  its  integrated 
approach,  monitor  progress,  update  the  agenda  when  needed  and  also  synchronise  the 
research  agendas  of  public  authorities,  the  private  sector  and  academia.  Temporary  sub-
groups  will  examine  and  adapt  specific  innovation  roadmaps  which  feed  into  the  overall 
Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda. Close links will be established with the 
Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, especially on linking electro-mobility, smart grids 
and  joint  actions  on  battery  development  as  well  as  the  production,  provision  and  use  of 
alternative  fuels  such  as  hydrogen,  biogas  and  synthetic  fuels.  A  new  tool  for  monitoring 
progress of transport research and innovation actions and providing better feedback to policy 
makers  is  being  developed  with  the  Transport  Research  and  Innovation  Monitoring  and 
Information  System  (TRIMIS).  Interfaces  will  be  established  with  the  energy  sector's 
corresponding tool (SETIS). 

4. 

Digitalisation 

The ambitious Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy34 presented by the Commission in May 
2015 and its recent mid-term review35 have led to a number of proposals which will facilitate 
and enable digitalisation across the Single Market, including in the transport sector. Measures 
taken  in  the  context  of  the  Digital  Single  Market  are  enablers  for  connectivity  and  new 
business models across the whole transport sector. 

33  SWD(2017) 223 
34  COM(2015) 192 
35  COM(2017) 228  

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Data  is  increasingly  seen  as  'the  new  fuel  of  transport'  that  drives  the  development  of  new 
innovative  transport  services.  Within  the  EU,  data  needs  to  freely  flow  across  borders.  The 
European  data  economy  initiative36  aims  to  make  non-personal  data  move  freely  within  the 
EU,  without  undue  restrictions,  complementing  EU  data  protection  legislation  that  already 
ensures the free flow of personal data.  37 It also encourages making machine generated data 
held  by  private  entities  accessible  to  others  for  new  innovative  solutions.  Combining  data 
generated  by  the  use  of  vehicles  with  anonymous  information  about  the  location  of  users, 
freely  available  weather  data  from  EU  satellites  and  data  from  public  transport  providers 
would  improve the  reliability  of  intermodal transport solutions and timeliness of  door-
to-door mobility services. Real-life experiments are on-going in cooperative, connected and 
automated mobility, to test whether current business practices on access to and re-use of non-
personal  data,  and  rules  on  liability  for  damages,  are  fit  for  innovative  approaches  in  this 
sector.  At  the  same  time,  in  case  personal  data  is  being  processed,  the  compliance  of  such 
processing with the EU legislation on the protection of personal data must be ensured. 

The  perspective  of  combining  data  across  sectors,  including  from  vehicles  in  connected 
mobility  and  sensors  in  logistics,  manufacturing  or  health,  through  the  Internet  of  Things, 
opens  up  further  possibilities  to  provide  new  services  that  improve  the  quality  of  life  of 
citizens and diminish the environmental burden of mobility.  

The European Cloud Initiative38 will put in place a high capacity data infrastructure, which 
will  act  as  the  data  highway  across  Europe  and  act  as  a  basic  infrastructure  for  the 
European data economy. A cloud interface will be built on top of the data infrastructure, 
allowing researchers, but also public authorities and businesses, to make use of high capacity 
data transfers and analytics. The use of private cloud services will enable transport operators 
to  run  their  infrastructure  more  efficiently.  Standardisation  and  certification  efforts  are  on-
going for increased trust and security39.  

The rapid emergence of  new business models and mobility services is already profoundly 
changing  the  transport  sector.  Many  of  those  are  based  on  online  platforms40  and 
collaborative economy business models, as digital technologies prove to be a strong driver for 
technological  innovation  in  the  transport  sector.  For  example  car-sharing  contributes  to 
reducing harmful emissions from fossil transport fuels and congestion. New digital mobility 
models,  such  as  mobility  as  a  service,  will  be  needed  in  the  future  to  achieve  these  goals, 
without  decreasing  mobility  and  quality  of  life  for  citizens.  Setting  the  right  environment 
enabling  smooth  emergence  and  scaling  up  of  such  new  business  models  will  be  crucial  in 
determining Europe's future as a leading global centre for innovative transport services.  

An attack on a connected car would threaten the safety and privacy of passengers and other 
citizens.  One  of  the  challenges  in  vehicle  cybersecurity  is  that  the  various  electrical 
components in a car are connected via an internal network. Therefore, if hackers manage 
to gain access to a vulnerable component — for instance, a car’s Bluetooth — from there they 
may be able to take control of safety critical components like its brakes or engine. In 2016, the 

36  COM(2017) 9 
37  Directive 95/46/EC and upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 679/2016 ensure the free flow of 

personal data within the scope of their application. 

38  COM(2016) 178 
39  COM(2016) 176 
40  COM(2016) 288 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
EU  Member  States  agreed  to  work  towards  a  coherent  European  framework  for  the 
deployment  of  interoperable  connected  and  automated  driving,  including  on  developing 
common  trust  models  and  certification  policies  to  prevent  risks  and  support  cybersecurity, 
whilst  ensuring  safe  and  interoperable  deployment.  To  reach  this  goal  a  number  of  actions 
regarding cyber security have been laid down in the Commission's strategy on the deployment 
of  cooperative,  connected  and  automated  mobility.41  The  2016  Directive  on  Security  of 
Network and Information Systems42 has put in place the necessary structures for strategic and 
operational  cooperation  between  Member  States  to  make  critical  sectors  (such  as  transport) 
cyber  resilient,  and  requires  operators  of  essential  transport  services  to  take  necessary 
preventive measures and to report significant cyber incidents to their national authorities. 
A  EUR  1.8  billion  cybersecurity  contractual  Public-Private  Partnership  was  launched  in 
201643 and it will also work on sectoral demands, such as transport.  

The proposed e-Privacy Regulation44 will provide strong protection for the confidentiality of 
communications between connected vehicles and other devices, if that connection is made 
via public networks. This means it will be forbidden to intercept the communication between 
a  smartphone  and  the  connected  vehicle  of  a  user,  and  thereby  to  interfere  with  the 
functioning  of  the  connected  vehicle,  or  to  access  private  data  of  the  user,  without  his/her 
control or consent.  

It will be essential to put in place the underlying digital and physical infrastructures with the 
capacity  to  deliver  large  volumes  of  digital  information  reliably  and  in  real  time  across  all 
areas  of  the  EU,  if  the  full  capabilities  of  connected  vehicles,  automated  driving  and  the 
Internet of Things are to be realised. A coordinated approach to spectrum management and 
the roll-out of 5G technologies will be crucial elements of this process. The proposed reform 
of the electronic communications framework45 and the 5G Action Plan46 will allow for radical 
improvements  in  connectivity,  with  upgraded  cellular-based  communications  offering  wide 
geographical coverage, reaching large user groups at high speed.  

Intensive efforts are ongoing to accelerate the digitisation of European industry47, along the 
lines set out be the Commission in April 2016. Particularly important for the transport sector 
are the ICT standardisation priorities, which aim at concentrating standard setting in a set of 
core technologies - 5G, Internet of Things, Cloud, Cybersecurity and Data Technologies – all 
of  which  are  essential  enablers  for  connected  and  automated  cars,  and  other  digital 
applications in the transport domain.  

The  Internet  of  things  will  have  a  great  impact  on  vehicle  operations  through  self-driving 
vehicle car sharing or smart parking solutions. In cities, it will help design and operate tolling 
systems.  In  logistics,  it  plays  a  role  in  asset  controlling  (location  and  condition)  as  well  as 
traffic management.  Big data can allow the manufacturers of vehicles to enhance the value 
of vehicles over their life-time through regular updates.  

41  COM(2016) 766  
42  Directive (EU) 2016/1148  
43  COM(2016) 410 and C(2016) 4400 
44  COM(2017) 10 
45  COM(2016) 590 and 591 
46  COM(2016) 587 and 588 
47  COM(2016) 180 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
High  Performance  Computing  is  critical  for  the  connected  mobility  sector  to  reap  the 
benefits of the data economy, which enables higher value products and services. Substantial 
investments  are  needed  to  develop,  acquire  and  operate  high-end  machines.  Therefore  the 
European Commission and the Member States are working to coordinate their efforts. On 23 
March  2017  at  the  Digital  Day  in  Rome,  seven  Member  States48  signed  a  declaration  in 
support of the next generation of computing and data infrastructure.  

Digitalisation  has  the  potential  to  change  the  way  cargo  and  traffic  flows  will  be  organised 
and managed for freight transport logistics. To support the process the Commission has set 
up  the  Digital  Transport  and  Logistics  Forum.  This  Forum  focuses  on  two  aspects,  the 
digitalisation  and  acceptance  of  transport  documents  and  the  establishment  of  management 
systems.  Corridor  information  and  management  systems  aim  at  facilitating  data  sharing 
between all stakeholders along transport and logistics chains in given corridors through data 
exchange platforms. The work involves all logistics chain actors and there is a need to agree 
not only on technical solutions and rules for data accessibility, exchange, ownership, quality 
and protection, but also on financing and governance.  

5. 

Governance, cities and partnerships for effective action 

5.1 

The trans-European network for better delivery  

The  Trans-European  Network  for  transport  (TEN-T)  defines  the  framework  for 
completing the transport infrastructure backbone in Europe. In order to arrive at a coordinated 
rollout  of  the  network  and  to  avoid  a  patchwork  of  national  or  regional  sections,  a 
coordination  tool,  in  place  since  2005,  has  been  reinforced  and  granted  the  necessary 
resources. Core-network corridors have been defined (9 in total) integrating the main missing 
links  in  the  network,  as  well  as  the  bottlenecks  that  have  a  network-wide  effect.  European 
Coordinators  have  been  appointed  to  closely  monitor  the  progress  made  by  European, 
national  and  other  stakeholders  investing  in  the  deployment  of  this  network.  The  European 
Coordinators  have  been  fully  exploiting  the  new  instruments  by  setting  up  Corridor  Forum 
meetings,  bringing  together  all  stakeholders  along  their  Corridors  and  ensuring  proper 
coordination and deployment of funding and financing. Work plans have been agreed by the 
Member States, after extensive consultation with all stakeholders. 

Such  innovative  governance  has  facilitated  consensus-building  and  securing  commitments 
with the aim of delivering the core TEN-T network by 2030 and the full network by 2050. It 
ensured the development of a list of mature projects, with a strong emphasis on the long-term 
EU added-value projects, having a network effect beyond borders. Beyond these cross-border 
sections, the European Coordinators promote a wide range of infrastructure projects that aim 
to achieve a fully functional and multi-modal TEN-T network by focusing on environmentally 
friendly transport modes such as inland waterways and rail and on improved connectivity with 
maritime and air transport. 

The  timely  delivery  of  TEN-T  is  largely  dependent  on  regulatory  framework  and 
administrative procedures necessary  for authorising  infrastructure projects, as these  are 
key  elements  enabling  swift  project  implementation,  in  particular  in  a  cross-border  context. 
Experience on the Core Network Corridors shows that complex regulatory and administrative 
arrangements can lead to increased costs, delays and thus create uncertainty. Attention should 

48  France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
therefore  be  paid  to  streamlining  regulatory  and  authorisation  procedures,  notably  by 
facilitating  public  procurement  for  cross-border  projects,  encouraging  joint  environmental 
impact  assessments  and  building  on  existing  best  practices  (i.e.  one-stop-shop  approach 
applicable to the projects of common interest in the energy sector). Such measures can help 
make public investment more efficient, while at the same time increase the legal certainty thus 
attracting private investors. 

Furthermore,  as  required  by  the  ex-ante  conditions  for  receiving  financial  support  from  the 
Cohesion  Fund  and  European  Regional  Development  Fund  for  sustainable  transport 
investments,  comprehensive  national  and  regional  transport  plans  were  developed  in  20 
Member States. These plans set out in detail how the development of the TEN-T will be taken 
forward  in  those  Member  States  and  regions  concerned.  They  also  provide  a  basis  for  a 
balanced and complementary development of non-TEN-T infrastructure at national, regional, 
and local levels. These plans reinforce planning security for both public and private investors. 

5.2 

Cities and the Urban Agenda for the EU 

Given  that  cities  and  urban  communities  are  the  place  where  a  major  part  of  the 
transformation will actually take place, the EU has been paying particular attention to them.  
The  Urban  Agenda  for  the  EU49,  launched  in  2016,  addresses  problems  facing  cities  by 
setting  up  partnerships  between  the  EU,  national  governments,  local  authorities  and 
stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations. Together they develop action plans to 
adopt  better  laws,  to  improve  funding programmes  and  to  share  knowledge  (data,  studies, 
good  practices).  In  the  framework  of  the  Urban  Agenda  for  the  EU  an  Urban  mobility 
partnership  was  launched  in  January  2017.  The  objective  of  this  partnership  is  to 
contribute to develop a sustainable and efficient urban mobility. The focus will be on public 
transport,  soft  mobility  and  accessibility  (for  disabled,  elderly,  young  children,  etc.),  and 
efficient transport with good local and regional connectivity. The objective is to have a Draft 
Action Plan by the end of the year, consultations in 2018, and to implement the Action Plan in 
2018 and 2019. 

The Commission has also recently launched a One-stop shop for cities.50 This web portal is a 
single  entry  point  for  cities  and  stakeholders  with  complete  reliable  and  customised 
information on urban matters in the EU such as: legislation (existing and upcoming), funding 
instruments,  networks,  projects,  studies  and  data.  Lending  by  EIB,  municipal  banks  and 
commercial banks  to  cities is  happening.  However, individual municipal projects tend to  be 
too  small  and are often too  risky  for the market. Municipal  companies,  private providers of 
municipal services or social enterprises often do not have access to adequate financing, cities 
face difficulties in attracting private investors, financial support for a multi-sector integrated 
urban development programmes is difficult to access. Commission is currently working with 
the  European  Investment  Bank  on  a  One-stop-shop  for  city  investments  that  will  be  an 
integral  part  of  the  One-stop  shop  for  cities.  The  aim  of  the  One-stop-shop  for  city 
investments will be to raise awareness of the existing instruments, programmes and services 
as well as to provide tailor-made technical and financial advice and to explore innovative 
financing for city investments. A demand driven approach will be followed in its initial phase. 
Among the first to test the new approach are Rotterdam and The Hague.  

49  https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/node/1829 
50  https://ec.europa.eu/info/eu-regional-and-urban-development/cities 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
An increasing number of cities and regions are considering to no longer buy conventionally- 
fuelled diesel buses in the near term (London, Paris/Ile de France, Copenhagen, Hamburg, all 
Dutch provinces among them).51 The cost of e-buses has fallen quite strongly, some 25-30% 
since 2010 – from over EUR 1 million to around EUR 750,000 today. As part of the ZEeUS 
project, the International Association of Public Transport (UITP)52 ran a survey with 9 major 
original  equipment  manufacturers  (OEMs)  on  future  market  development,  forecasting  for 
battery-electric registrations a growth in 2025 of 30 % and up to 50 % by 2030.  

The  essential  issue  is  the  way  in  which  public  transport  is  organised  and  financed  in  many 
Member States. The problem is that many operators distinguish their operational expenditure 
budgets (OPEX) from the capital expenditure budgets (CAPEX), leading to fear about limited 
ability  to  purchase  the  same  amount  of  vehicles  when  going  electric  and  having  hence  to 
reduce services. 

Through  contacts  with  cities  within  the  Sustainable  Transport  Forum,  the  Commission 
facilitates  a  Clean  Bus  Deployment  initiative  aiming  at  increasing  the  share  of  alternatively 
fuelled buses to 30 % of new registrations in 2025 (and up to 2.000 newly registered vehicles 
per year in 2019).  

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)53 sets up the Knowledge and 
Innovation Communities54 as partnerships between business, research institutes and academia 
to develop innovative products and services, to allow new companies to be started and new 
generation  of  entrepreneurs  to  be  trained.  In  a  recent  event  on  urban  mobility  (29  March 
2017) that mainly focused on the bottom-up and long-term approach to stimulate innovation 
in urban mobility, the idea of a new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) in urban 
mobility was explored and the new KIC can be created in 2018 through a decision of the EIT.   

6. 

External dimension  

External and development policies are essential tools to support clean mobility and resource 
efficient infrastructures globally.  

The  Commission  has  identified  support  for  design,  construction  and  operation  of  urban 
infrastructures as one of the main areas for cooperation for the new European consensus on 
Development.55 The EU and its Member States will support the development of sustainable, 
interconnected  and  secure  transport  networks  and  other  resilient  infrastructure  to  promote 
growth, trade and investments.  

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  will  seek  to  boost  the  potential  of  cities  as  hubs  for 
sustainable, inclusive growth and innovation, taking account of their wider rural communities. 
In line with the UN's New Urban Agenda, they will promote the delivery of basic services, 
sustainable  land  planning,  equitable  management  of  land  markets  and  sustainable  urban 
mobility. They will promote inclusive and balanced territorial and urban policies.  

51  Feedback gathered by the Commission services on public procurement of clean vehicles. 
52  http://www.uitp.org 
53  https://eit.europa.eu 
54  https://eit.europa.eu/eit-community 
55  COM(2016) 740 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The  Commission  has  proposed  a  European  External  Investment  Plan56  to  provide  an 
integrated financial package to finance investments outside the EU. The Plan would include a 
European  Fund  for  Sustainable  Development,  technical  assistance  to  develop  sustainable 
projects  and  attract  investors,  and  a  set  of  development  technical  assistance  programmes  to 
improve  the  investment  and  policy  environments  in  the  countries  concerned,  in  particular 
scale up private and public investments in low-carbon mobility.  

Because EU manufacturers compete on a global scale, the European Union is a Contracting 
Party  to  the  195857  and  199858  Agreements  on  vehicle  regulations  developed  under  the 
umbrella  of  the  United  Nations.  These  agreements  establish  harmonised  requirements  at 
global level to ensure high levels of safety, environmental protection and energy efficiency. 
They  also  facilitate  international  trade  by  eliminating  the  existing  technical  barriers  and 
preventing the creation of new ones. 

7. 

Batteries  

Electric vehicles depend on the availability of high performance battery cells that store a large 
quantity of  energy and  can  be charged  many times,  at high speed if necessary.  Competitive 
battery packs (consisting of battery cells and electronics) are currently the most valuable part 
of new electric powertrains.  

7.1 

 Europe faces challenges in batteries cells developments 

The EU has been active at various stages of the battery cell value chain. Made available 
research  funds  for  the  development  of  more  performant  battery  cells  and  batteries  from 
battery materials (improved lithium chemistries and new battery chemistries, development of 
new  lightweight  and  non-critical  materials),  to  cell  manufacturing  technologies  and 
machinery,  cell  battery  assembly,  battery  systems  integration  and  end  of  use  and  recycling. 
The  EU  has  also  developed  legislation  and  framework  conditions  that  are  key  for  the 
deployment of batteries in different applications (e-mobility and energy storage).  

However, a large-scale market deployment of battery cell technology in Europe seems to 
be  limited  at  present.  Despite  a  strong  base  for  basic  research  (especially  of  technologies 
planned  for  commercialisation  in  the  long  term),  the  existence  of  EU  suppliers  of  battery 
materials  and  other  components,  a  good  expertise  in  the  production  of  equipment  used  for 
manufacturing  battery  cells,  in  battery  packs  assembly  and  in  battery  management  systems 
e.g.  (power  electronics,  software),  Europe  has  not  been  able  to  establish  on  its  territory  a 
complete Li-ion battery value chain except for a few niche markets. Battery cell production 
(Li-ion technology) is dominated by Asian companies and there is a clear lack of large-scale 
manufacturing of battery cells in Europe. Many of EU-funded research projects resulted in 
the demonstration of new technologies at the laboratory scale.  However, significant further 
research and development might be required to address the many issues and challenges that 
emerged and progress these technologies, in particular the post-Li-ion ones, towards scaled up 
demonstration under representative conditions. In addition, significant market penetration of 
electric  vehicles  and  significant  uptake  of  battery  cells  in  other  non-mobile  applications  is 
needed  to  overcome  the  resistance  of  market  actors  to  commit  to  the  large  amount  of 

56  COM(2016) 581 
57  OJ L 346, 17.12.1997, p. 78. 
58  OJ L 35, 10.2.2000, p.12. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
resources needed to invest in mass production of battery cells in Europe i.e. invest in a sector 
currently monopolised by Asian manufacturers.  

The  inexistence  of  a  complete  mass  production  battery  value  chain  in  Europe  has  not  been 
considered to be a major  problem until  now due to  low  demand  for batteries in  non-mobile 
applications resulting for instance from a lack of personal electronic industry and low up-take 
of  e-mobility.  However, 
the  progressing 
is  becoming  apparent  now 
decarbonisation  of  the  transport  sector  and  the  growing  share  of  renewables  in  the  energy 
supply, the demand for batteries will rise faster than anticipated.  

that  with 

it 

Recent announcements by a number of industrial players show that Europe is an attractive 
market with a healthy automotive industry and growing potential for the use of batteries 
for energy storage.  Furthermore, non-European companies are increasingly investing in the 
EU and launch battery cell production in the expectation of a growing market.  

LG Chem opened in 2017 a cell and battery pack  production facility in Poland (around 1000 people 
will  be  employed)  with  an  intention  to  produce  100.000  batteries  per  year  and  Samsung  which  will 
launch in 2018 a new 50.000 batteries per year facility in Hungary.  

More  recently  a  number  of  EU  players  announced  their  plans  to  establish  gigafactories  in 
Europe.  Although  the  EU  manufacturers'  plans  are  not  yet  fully  established,  due  to  the 
strategic interest of batteries for the EU as a whole (batteries are considered a key enabling 
technology  for  e-mobility  and  energy  union  objectives),  the  European  Commission  and 
member  States  are  following  up  very  closely  and  should  support  any  industry  efforts  to 
establish a battery value chain in the EU (i.e. EU production of battery cells). 

7.2 

Better coordination of existing instruments 

There  are  many  EU  instruments  supporting  battery  development  to  date.  Over  the  years, 
Europe  has  become  one  of  the  major  regions  in  terms  of  battery  cell  research  and 
development,  funding  a  total  of  about  140  projects  via  FP7  and  Horizon  2020  on  different 
levels of the battery value chain involving around 1000 participants from 36 countries. Under 
FP7, 25 projects on batteries for electric vehicles were funded representing EUR 95.7 million 
of EU funding. Under Horizon 2020, 8 projects on batteries for electric vehicles and battery 
chemistry  were  financed  representing  EUR  55.4  million,  and  more  are  in  the  pipeline.  In 
addition, considerable funding is directed under Horizon 2020 to innovation projects related 
to  integration  of  battery-based  storage  in  electricity  system59.  In  the  programming  period 
2018-2020,  Horizon 2020 is expected to continue funding research on cells, for instance on 
further development of current already used Li-ion technology and on improvements of 'post 
Li-ion' technology or 'beyond Li-ion' technologies and related chemistries. Europe scores very 
well in basic research on batteries, however, it has been lagging behind so far on the scaling 
up of manufacturing facilities and valorising (patenting) research results.  

59  EUR  121  million  for  currently  running  Horizon  2020  projects  and  more  in  the  programming  period  2018-
2020;  (even  though  calls  for  proposals  were  not  specifically  focused  on  battery-based  stationary  storage, 
received proposals mostly related to battery based storage). 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 1: Project calls funded under FP7 and H2020 programmes 

33 

99 

42 

9 

31 

83 

10 

43 

82 

10 

42 

84 

10 

14 

19 

29 

22 

277 

16 

83 

36 

24 

FP 7 Other (Environment, Marie-Curie actions, benefits for
SMEs, and ERC funded projects)

FP7 Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new
Production Technologies

FP7 Transport & ICT

98 

318 

H2020 Other (Environment, Resource efficiency and raw
materials, Marie-Curie actions, future and emerging
technologies)

FP7 Energy

H2020 Smart, green and integrated transport

H2020 Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies

H2020 Secure, clean and efficient energy

The Declaration of Intent under the integrated Strategic Energy Technology Plan Key Action 
7 "Become competitive in the global battery sector to drive e-mobility forward" sets important 
performance, manufacturing and recycling targets. It provides for a common vision  on targets 
for  battery  performance,  battery  costs  and  battery  manufacturing  capability  shared  by  the 
Member  States,  industrial  and  research  stakeholders  as  well  as  the  Commission  within  the 
SET Plan working group with time horizons of 2020 and 2030 to be reached through EU-level 
coordinated research and innovation efforts by Member states and EU industry.  

The  next  step  will  be  the  development  of  implementation  plans  for  achieving  the  defined 
targets. Those plans will suggest joint and/or coordinated actions, identify the ways in which 
the  EU  and  national  research  and  innovation  programmes  could  most  usefully  contribute, 
identify  the  contributions  of  the  private  sector,  research  organisations,  and  universities, 
identify  all  issues  of  a  technological,  socio‐economic,  environmental,  regulatory  or  other 
nature  that  may  be  of  relevance  in  achieving  the  targets.  Most  of  the  actions  will  be 
implemented at national level. 

Beyond  coordinating  R&I,  SET-Plan  Key  Action  7  has  the  potential  to  become  the  main 
coordination tool for batteries in the years to come through serving as a basis for the High-
Level  Stakeholders'  Forum  on  Batteries  to  be  established.  Going  ahead  with  concrete 
recommendations  would  require  increasing  the  outreach  of  the  SET-Plan  forum  to  engage 
with all relevant actors along the batteries value chain, covering research, innovation as well 
as market deployment of technologies and of manufacturing capacities in the EU.   

There is urgency and a strategic interest to move from research supporting activities to a 
market deployment dimension of battery cells manufacturing in the EU. The ''Important 
Projects  of  Common  European  Interest''  instrument60  should  provide  the  necessary  platform 
for a joint market deployment financing battery cell and batteries production in the EU.  

60  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014XC0620(01)&from=EN 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
7.3 

Tapping the potential of circular economy 

A wide range of elements and raw materials are used in Li-ion battery cells including lithium 
(Li), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), aluminium (Al), copper (Cu), silicon (Si), tin 
(Sn),  titanium  (Ti)  and  carbon  (C)  in  a  variety  of  forms,  e.g.  natural  graphite.  Among  the 
materials  used  in  Li-ion  cells,  three  are  presently  listed  as  critical  raw  materials  –  those 
representing  high  economic  importance  while  at  the  same  time  having  a  high  supply-risk  - 
cobalt, natural graphite and silicon (metal). With a growing demand for the Li-ion batteries, it 
is expected that the pressure on these raw materials will increase. As Europe largely depends 
on supply of these raw materials from third countries61, large scale production might result in 
an increased vulnerability in terms of security of supply. 

The cost of raw materials still constitutes 30 % of the cost of a cell. The private sector will 
develop  their  purchasing  strategies  and  alliances.  Cutting  the  raw  materials  flow  by  either 
optimising the  raw materials flows through  vertical integration or  by increasing the level of 
use of recycled material can become an important competitive advantage.  

In the EU, the batteries market is shaped by the Batteries Directive62 that covers all types of 
batteries  and  accumulators,  establishes  objectives  for  key  stages  in  their  life  cycle,  such  as 
their  placing  on  the  market  and  recycling  aspects  and  defines  obligations  for  operators 
involved (authorities, manufacturers, sellers, importers). Along with those in the End of Life 
Vehicles  Directive63  (ELV),  their  provisions  determine  an  important  part  of  the  ‘regulatory 
environment’  of  batteries  in  the  EU  and  actually  constitute essential  drivers  for the markets 
concerned.  

This Directive is now being evaluated by the Commission to assess the consistency with and 
contribution to  different EU policies within which this initiative is  developed. The scope of 
this evaluation stretches beyond circular economy aspects; it will also assess the contribution 
of the Directive to increasing the EU stock of raw materials, namely through the strengthening 
of collection, re-use and recycling of batteries. 

At present, automotive batteries used for starting, lighting and ignition functions in vehicles 
are based on lead-acid chemistries. The Commission's draft proposal for the 8th amendment 
of Annex II to the ELV Directive foresees a review in 2021 for the exemption for use of lead 
in batteries for automotive batteries. It is acknowledged that the replacement of lead batteries 
is possible based on technological and scientific progress.64 Changes in the status of lead-acid 
batteries will trigger important developments in this field. 

The increased demand  for batteries, the reliance on recycled material for materials sourcing 
and an open space for innovation are to be taken into consideration in all these reviews, and 
make any necessary adjustments to legal instruments an essential element to close the loop in 
the batteries life-cycle.  

61  EU imports of Li-ion battery related raw materials: cobalt – Russia; natural graphite – China, Brazil; silicon 
metal – Norway, Brazil; lithium – Australia, Chile. Exploration/extraction projects in East Germany, North of 
Sweden/Norway/Finland, Serbia are envisaged. 

62  Directive 2006/66/EC  
63  Directive 2000/53/EC  
64  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/elv/events_en.htm  

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
In  order  to  showcase  an  innovation  favourable  approach  in  the  frame  of  the  Circular 
Economy, the Commission selected an Innovation Deal on e-mobility. The Deal will help the 
Commission and the participating innovators to identify and analyse non-technical, legislative 
barriers  which  could  hinder  the  re-use  of  electric  vehicles  batteries.  In  addition,  re-use  of 
electric vehicles' batteries is already being tested within Horizon2020 projects.65 

8. 

Alternative fuels infrastructure  

The  Commission's  proposal  on  alternative  fuels  infrastructure  set  targets  for  each  Member 
State  for  electric,  natural  gas  and  hydrogen  infrastructure  to  ensure  a  minimum  EU-wide 
coverage for vehicles.66 The Council rejected the fixed targets and reduced the scope to public 
recharging and refuelling stations. Instead, the now-adopted Directive requests Member States 
to  submit  their  national  policy  frameworks  to  outline  national  targets  and  objectives,  and 
supporting  actions  for  the  development  of  the  market  as  regards  alternative  fuels,  including 
the deployment of the necessary infrastructure to be put into place. The Directive requires the 
Commission to assess the national policy frameworks and to take additional action in case of 
shortcomings in the submitted national policy frameworks. 

The  Commission  has  received  20  national  policy  frameworks  to  date  (Austria,  Belgium, 
Bulgaria,  Czech  Republic,  Germany,  Denmark,  Estonia,  Finland,  Spain,  France,  Hungary, 
Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia). From the preliminary 
assessment, it is clear that there are significant gaps in the coverage.  

In 2011, Estonia launched a national electric car mobility system. This programme promotes electric 
cars  for  emission-free  personal  transport.  By  November  2013,  a  total  of  165  fast  chargers  had  been 
installed in Estonia, covering the entire country. New electric vehicle owners could apply for a EUR 1 
000 grant to cover the costs of installing a home charging station.   

Technical  specifications  (i.e.  power  level  and  number  of  charging  points)  of  the  recharging 
stations  must  be  considered  by  the  market  actors  to  reflect  the  pattern  of  electric  vehicle 
usage. This choice will impact the charging stations business case. Deploying charging points 
should be based on an economic business case (the short term business case is surely negative 
until  a  sufficient  mass  of  electric  vehicles  is  deployed,  but  this  is  in  turn  dependant  on  a 
minimal  deployed  infrastructure  that  allow  long  range  travel).  The  deployment  of  electric 
recharging  infrastructure,  as  part  of  Member  States'  national  policy  frameworks  under 
Directive  2014/94/EU,  will  be  supported  by  an  innovation-friendly  policy  framework 
addressing  easy  access  at  reasonable  cost  to  all  electricity  networks  while  roaming  and 
harmonised payment issues should be ensured by technical interoperability.  

The  Alternative  Fuels  Infrastructure  Directive  covers  only  the  public  domain,  which 
represents 10% of the required charging points at EU level. However, evidence shows that in 
90% of the cases, recharging of electric vehicles take place in private parking spaces, which 
are not publicly accessible. Buildings regulation therefore can effectively promote e-mobility. 
The Commission's proposal for amending the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive67 
tackles  this  issue  by  requiring,  under  certain  conditions,  the  rollout  of  electric  vehicle 

65  See e.g. http://elsa-h2020.eu/ 
66  Directive 2014/94/EU 
67  COM(2016) 765 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
recharging points and of pre-cabling in private buildings. The proposal is currently subject to 
discussions in the Council and the European Parliament. 

The  electrification  of  transport  is  also  a  potentially  big  leap  in  consumer  empowerment  as 
they  become  actors  on  energy  markets.  Using  electric  vehicles  in  a  smart  way  to  allow  for 
electricity  system  services  can  be  a  source  of  income  for  owners  of  electric  vehicles.  The 
Clean  energy  for  all  European  Package  from  November  201668  includes  the  necessary 
elements for market design reforms69 to bring about such changes. 

Investments into alternative fuels infrastructure will be further triggered by the Commission's 
proposal  for  the  recast  of  the  Renewable  Energy  Directive.  The  latter  introduces  an 
obligation  on  European  transport  fuel  suppliers  to  provide  an  increasing  share  of  non-crop-
based renewable and low-carbon fuels, including advanced biofuels, renewable transport fuels 
of  non-biological  origin  (e.g.  hydrogen),  waste-based  fuels  and  renewable  electricity.  The 
level  of  this  obligation  is  progressively  increasing  from  1.5%  in  2021  to  6.8  %  in  2030, 
including at least 3.6% of advanced biofuels.  

9. 

Cooperative, connected and automated driving  

Today,  a  new  generation  of  vehicles  is  emerging.  New  vehicles  are  connected,  increasingly 
autonomous and cooperate with their immediate environment. Expectations are high on these 
connected, cooperative and automated vehicles to offer new mobility services for passengers 
and freight, to improve traffic management, to save fuel and emissions, to improve road safety 
by compensating for human error, to help integrate all transport modes, and to create new jobs 
and business opportunities, to mention just a few of the potential benefits. Driverless vehicles 
could be available as mass-market products by 2030.  

Although automated driving will initially rely on car sensor information, without cooperation 
amongst  road  users,  vehicle-to-everything  (V2X)  connectivity  can  enhance  autonomous 
driving  by  providing  more  sources,  thus  enabling  collective  perception  and  coordinated 
resolution  of  complex  decisions.70  It  also  enables  better  situation  assessment  by  using 
information  on  road  and  traffic  conditions.  Time  and  investments  will  be  needed  for  high 
penetration of V2X technology in both vehicles and infrastructure. 

9.1 

Europe already supports connected, cooperative and automated mobility  

The  Commission is  supporting  technology  research  and  development  and  also  large-scale 
cross-border trials of automated vehicles with dedicated calls on automated road transport and 
Internet  of  Things  in  Horizon  2020.  The  testing  of  vehicles  is  already  possible  in  Member 
States  (e.g.  based  on  special  permits).  Cooperation  across  Member  States  for  cross-border 
testing  has  been  established  by  a  Letter  of  Intent  signed  on  23  March  2017  in  Rome.  All 
Member States (with the exception of the UK) as well as Norway and Switzerland joined the 

68  COM(2016) 860 
69  The market design initiative consists of a recast of the Electricity Directive (COM(2016) 864), a recast of the 
Electricity  Regulation  (COM(2016)  861),  a  recast  of  the  ACER  Regulation  (COM(2016)  863),  and  a  new 
Regulation on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector (COM(2016) 862).    

70   The European Commission considers in its Communication on C-ITS, that communication between vehicles, 
infrastructure and with other road users is crucial also to increase the safety of automated vehicles and ensure 
their full integration into the overall transport system. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
letter  and  the  focus  is  now  on  putting  in  place  the  necessary  arrangements  for  cross-border 
testing by 2017.  

This  letter  joins  up  with  the  High  Level  Roundtable  involving  telecom  and  automotive 
industry,  launched  in  September  2015  to  develop  joint  roadmaps  and  establish  cross-border 
deployment actions. The Roundtable has already achieved a commitment from both industries 
to  form  new  alliances  and  to  start  real  life  experimentation  with  5G  technologies  for 
connected and automated driving. 71  

The Connecting Europe Facility and Horizon 2020 have and continue to provide funding for 
testing  of  different  features  of  connectivity  and  automation  with  current  communication 
technologies (C-ITS) or 5G (automated driving). The number of involved Member States is 
on the rise for projects coordinated by the EU. The C-ROADS initiative72 launched in 2016 
gathers  real-life  deployment  projects  in  11  Member  States  and  is  instrumental  in  realising 
cross-border and cross-brand interoperability. These projects already produced a list of more 
than 20 mature services, enhancing road safety and traffic efficiency. 16 Member States are 
expected to participate by mid-2017 for total investments exceeding EUR 250 million. 

Regarding  the  deployment  of  interoperable  infrastructure  and  services  for  Cooperative 
Intelligent  Transport  Systems  (C-ITS),  the  Commission  launched  the  C-ITS  platform  in 
November 2014, to allow road users and traffic managers to share information and use it to 
coordinate their actions. The first phase resulted in an expert report endorsed and published in 
January  2016,  which  laid  the  groundwork  for  the  EU  Strategy  on  C-ITS73,  which  in  turn 
enables pan-European deployment of C-ITS services from 2019 onwards. 

On  vehicle  legislation  and  traffic  rules  for  automated  vehicles,  the  Commission  together 
with Member States and international partners (e.g. Japan) are working in the framework of 
the UNECE to adapt traffic law for upcoming partially automated systems. The GEAR2030 
High  Level  Group  gathering  the  relevant  Commissioners,  Member  States  and  stakeholders 
representing  various  industries  (i.e.  automotive,  telecoms,  IT  and  insurance)  has  already 
delivered  the  first  set  of  recommendations  for  vehicles  up  to  2020.  All  of  them  should  still 
require a driver. In these recommendations, the group established that there is no major legal 
obstacle for marketing and using such vehicles. Manufacturers can already use the current EU 
framework which provides for the mutual recognition of a national ad-hoc safety assessment 
for new technologies (Article 20 of Directive 2007/46/EC). However GEAR 2030 considered 
that  the  fitting  of  event  data  recorders  could  help  to  assign  liability  and  vehicle  legislation 
shall  ensure  that  the  vehicle  will  respect  traffic  rules  and  will  prevent  that  the  driver  is 
confused or misuse the system. These rules will be developed in priority with the framework 
of the UN, but alternative solutions may have to be considered at the EU level if it is expected 
that the UN will not deliver on time. 

GEAR 2030 also identified no need for legal harmonisation for testing at this stage. However 
to  take  the  full  benefit  of  testing  over  Europe,  the  group  recommended  encouraging  the 
exchange  on  main  common  lessons  learnt  through  a  dedicated  group.  The  group  already 

71  The  European  Automotive  Telecom  Alliance  (EATA)  (announced  e.g.  on:  http://www.acea.be/press-
the  5G 

releases/article/37-leading-companies-join-forces-in-european-automotive-telecom-alliance)  and 
Automotive Alliance (5GAA) (http://5gaa.org/ 

72  https://www.c-roads.eu/platform.html 
73  COM(2016)766 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
identified  common  building  blocks  which  could  help  for  the  mutual  recognition  of  the 
approvals/authorisations  granted  for  testing  and  could  help  for  cross  border  testing.  Some 
Member states (e.g. The Netherlands, Spain) already apply this mutual recognition principle 
unilaterally.  

9.2 

Future  efforts: 
cooperative systems 

liability 

issues  and  convergence  between  automated  and 

GEAR 2030 is now considering vehicles expected by 2030 which should include mass market 
driverless  vehicles  (driver  as  a  passenger).  Technical  challenges  are  still  high  for  driverless 
vehicles able to drive door to door. Large scale testing on open roads is a key tool to make 
progress  on  the  technology,  foster  cooperation  amongst  the  different  actors  and  facilitate 
public  acceptance.  GEAR  2030  is  looking  at  possible  additional  tools  that  could  be  used  to 
support future large scale testing. 

Public confidence in automated and connected vehicles will, besides providing clear added- 
value  for  users,  depend  upon  how  the  liability  and  privacy  issues  are  clarified.  The 
Commission is looking at the appropriate framework to ensure public confidence in particular 
issues.  The 
the  certification  approach,  cyber  security,  the 
appropriateness of the current legal framework for what concerns liability and the differences 
in  liability regimes  in  the Member States (e.g. road and traffic law, civil  law, strict liability 
regimes,  and  national  implementation  of  the  product  liability  directive  85/374/EEC)  which 
could impair the deployment of highly automated and connected vehicles are being examined.  

liability  and  privacy 

Finally,  as  driverless  vehicles  may  ultimately  impact  the  transport  systems,  the  group  is 
looking at societal issues like impact of automation on public transport, jobs or skills.  

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