COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS On the road to automated mobility: An EU strategy for mobility of the future
Date: 2018-05-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: common transport policy, innovation, intelligent transport system, new technology, research and development, road safety, road transport, transport infrastructure, vehicle

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.5.2018  COM(2018) 283 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  On the road to automated mobility: An EU strategy for mobility of the future   
 
 
1.  CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED MOBILITY IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR EUROPE 

Mobility  is  at  a  cross-roads.  There  have  been  many  significant  steps  forward  over  the  last 
century  in  road  transport.  But  mobility  is  now  crossing  a  new  –  digital  –  frontier  with 
increasing automation and connectivity allowing vehicles to "talk" to each other, to the road 
infrastructure, and to other road users. These develoments, that benefit from the progress in 
the field of Artificial Intelligence1, open up an entirely new level of cooperation between road 
users which could potentially bring enormous benefits for them and for the mobility system as 
a whole, including making transport safer, more accessible and sustainable.  

Driverless vehicles will change our lives, just as steam trains and motor cars did before them. 
They will shape the future of road transport and could lead to significantly reduced transport 
costs. They could pave the way for new services and offer new ways to respond to the ever-
increasing demand for mobility of people and goods. Once the current teething problems have 
been properly addressed – and they must be, driverless vehicles could significantly improve 
road  safety  since  human  error  is  estimated  to  play  a  role  in  94  per  cent  of  accidents2. 
Driverless vehicles could bring mobility to those who cannot drive themselves (e.g. elderly or 
disabled  people)  or  are  under-served  by  public  transport.  They  could  encourage  car-sharing 
schemes  and  'mobility  as  a  service'3  (i.e.  selling  rides,  not  cars).  They  could  also  accelerate 
vehicle electrification and electro-mobility4. Ultimately, driverless vehicles could free up the 
space wasted in parking and revolutionise urban planning. 

The EU is one of the largest exporters of vehicle technologies. Its businesses stand to benefit 
from  the  dynamic  growth5  of  the  sector.  High  levels  of  investment  will  be  needed  and  new 
jobs will be created to develop new technologies and services. The EU automotive industry, 
with  its  expertise  in  developing  vehicle  technologies,  is  well-positioned  to  seize  this 
opportunity6.  Moreover,  automated  vehicles  will  also  have  spill-over  effects  on  many  other 
sectors in the value chain (e.g. semiconductors, processing technologies, digital maps) and the 
new business models enabled or facilitated by driverless mobility (e.g. electronic commerce, 
'mobility as a service'). 

However,  we  cannot  expect  such  technological  changes  alone  to  solve  the  challenges  of 
congestion,  transport  emissions  and  road  fatalities.  We  need  to  manage  properly  the  long 
transition  phase  and  make  sure  future  vehicles  are  embedded  in  a  transport  system  that 
favours social inclusion, low emissions and overall efficiency. We need to strengthen the links 
between vehicles and traffic management, between public and privately owned data, between 
collective and individual transport and between all transport service providers and modes. 

Initial studies show that a majority of Europeans citizens have a good acceptance of driverless 
cars  with  58  per  cent  willing  to  take  a  ride  in  a  driverless  vehicle7.  However,  as  the  latest 
accidents  in  the  United  States  have  shown,  in  order  for  automated  mobility  to  gain  societal 
acceptance  only  the  highest  safety  and  security  standards  will  suffice.  New  risks  such  as 

1 Communication from the Commission "Artificial intelligence for Europe" of 25 April, COM(2018) 237. 
2 Commission's report on Saving Lives: Boosting Car Safety in the EU, COM(2016) 787. 
3 Labour cost represents 60% of the costs of ride-hailing services. 
4 UBS bank forecasts that automation, competition and electrification will cut the cost of ride-hailing by 70%. 
5  According  to  Boston  Consulting  Group,  automated  vehicles  should  represent  20%  of  global  vehicle  sales  in 

2025. 

6 https://connectedautomateddriving.eu/mediaroom/europe-leading-patent-race-autonomous-driving/ 
7  World Economic Forum, Self-driving vehicles in an urban context, January 2016. 

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overreliance on, and  misuse of, technology should be addressed. New questions such as the 
level  of  infrastructure  support  for  driverless  vehicles  and  how  this  infrastructure  should 
interact  with  the  vehicles  should  be  tackled.  Ethical  issues  related  to  transferring  the 
responsibility of driving to vehicles must also be addressed. This includes our expectations for 
how a vehicle should react when an accident cannot be avoided and criteria used to determine 
vehicle's  decision.  Linked  to  this  we  need  to  ask  ourselves  who  is  liable  when  a  driverless 
vehicle is involved in an accident. 

It is also essential to find the right balance between sharing public and private data, enabling 
fair and effective competition for innovative solutions, and data protection. As we share more 
data  and  as  the  number  of  players  involved  increases,  it  is  necessary  to  ensure  that  Europe 
remains  competitive  in  all  phases  of  driverless  mobility,  up  to  and  including  bringing  these 
final  services  to  our  citizens  and  our  businesses.  Finally,  the  disruptive  effect  of  driverless 
mobility on the labour market will have to be addressed, particularly the need for skilling and 
reskilling  (e.g.  professional  drivers would  initially  gain  freedom  to  perform  additional  tasks 
but could in the long-term no longer be needed in the vehicles). 

Provided the regulatory and enabling framework is in place to address all these issues the first 
vehicles  driving  themselves  under  specific  driving  conditions  could  be  available  on  a 
commercial basis by 2020, and they could become commonplace by 2030.  

In  other words, driverless  mobility promises great benefits but  also poses  serious  questions. 
We are in a global race to reap the benefits and answer the questions raised, as this provides a 
major opportunity for growth and jobs. The new market for automated and connected vehicles 
is expected to grow exponentially and large economic benefits are expected, with for instance 
revenues exceeding EUR 620 billion by 2025 for the EU automotive industry and EUR 180 
billion  for  the  EU  electronic  sector8.  Automated  mobility  could  therefore  support  the  EU 
ambition  for  a  stronger  and  more  competitive  industry9,  creating  new  jobs  and  boosting 
economic growth. 

With this Communication, the Commission proposes a comprehensive EU approach towards 
connected  and  automated  mobility  setting  out  a  clear,  forward  looking  and  ambitious 
European agenda. This agenda provides a common vision and identifies supporting actions for 
developing and deploying key technologies, services and infrastructure. It will ensure that EU 
legal  and  policy  frameworks  are  ready  to  support  the  deployment  of  safe  connected  and 
automated  mobility,  while  simultaneously  addressing  societal  and  environmental  concerns 
which will be decisive for public acceptance. 

2.  THE EU VISION OF CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED MOBILITY 

The ambition is to make Europe a world leader in the deployment of connected and automated 
mobility,  making  a  step-change  in  Europe  in  bringing  down  the  number  of  road  fatalities, 
reducing  harmful  emissions  from  transport  and  reducing  congestion.  The  deployment  of 
driverless mobility – when fully integrated in the whole transport system and accompanied by 
the  right  support  measures  and  synergies  between  driverless  mobility  and  decarbonisation 
measures – is expected to contribute significantly to achieving these key societal objectives. 
Ultimately  this  is  expected  to  lead  to  achieving  the  so-called  Vision  Zero,  i.e.  no  road 

8  Commission 

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-
reports/analysis-possible-socio-economic-effects-connected-cooperative-and-automated-mobility-ccam-europe  

study(2018): 

9 Communication from the Commission "A renewed EU Industrial Policy Strategy", COM(2017) 479. 

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fatalities  on  European  roads  by  205010.  Turning  this  ambition  for  Europe  into  reality  will 
require  the  EU,  private  players,  Member  States,  regional  and  local  authorities,  to  work 
together on a common vision of connected and automated mobility. 

Automated  vehicles  are  not  yet  ready  to  operate  without  human  supervision.  There  are  still 
many  technical  challenges  to  be  solved  to  ensure  that  the  vehicle  is  fully  able  to  sense  its 
environment,  understand  it  and  take  the  right  action  as  a  human  driver  does.  The  different 
levels of automation are described in the figure below. 

Figure: Different levels of automation (source: Society of Automotive Engineers-SAE11) 

Vehicles  assisting  the  driver  are  already  available  on  the  EU  market  (levels  1  and  2)  and 
automated vehicles that can drive themselves in a limited number of driving situations (levels 
3 and 4) are being tested and some of them should be available by 202012. 

In  its  policy-making  capacity,  the  Commission  favours  a  progressive  approach  based  on 
experience gained during testing that will validate the safety of the technologies. This will be 
done through identified automation use cases, i.e. driving situations where the vehicle is able 
to drive autonomously.  

10 White Paper: Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area, COM(2011) 144.  
11  For  the  full  definition  of  Society  of  Automotive  Engineers  levels  see:  http://articles.sae.org/13573/.  Level  4 
includes vehicles either with a driver (e.g. motorway autopilot) or without a driver (e.g. shuttles on dedicated 
trips). 

12  See  European  Road  Transport  Research  Advisory  Council's  Automated  Driving  Roadmap: 

http://www.ertrac.org/uploads/images/ERTRAC_Automated_Driving_2017.pdf 

3 

  Lateral or longitudinal control is accompised by the system System has longitudinal and lateral control in a specific use case System has longitudinal AND lateral control in a specific use case. System recognises the performance limits and requests driver to resume control within a sufficient time margin System can cope with all situations automatically in a defined use case System can cope with all situations automatically during the entire journey. No driver required.  Driver role Assisted Conditional automation High automation Full automation MONITORED DRIVING NON- MONITORED DRIVING Eyes on Hands on TEMPORARY HANDS OFF Eyes off Hands off Driver only Vehicle role    Already on the market 2020-2030  
 
 
 
                                                            
The  Commission  has  identified  the  automation  use  cases  which  are  relevant  from  a  public 
policy  perspective  for  the  next  decade  (see  text  box  below)  but  will  remain  open  to 
considering other possible new use cases being developed in the next years.  

  Passenger  cars  and  trucks  able  to  autonomously  handle  specific  situations  on  the 
motorway (automation levels 3 and 4) are expected to be available by 2020 (in particular 
highway chauffeur for cars and trucks13, truck platooning convoys). Cars and trucks able 
to handle some low speed situations could be in cities by 2020, such as rubbish trucks 
(working together with human employees) or valet parking (cars self-driving to a parking 
space). The capabilities of vehicles will then be further developed to satisfy increasingly 
complex situations (e.g. longer operating time or longer range with no driver input). 

  Public transport, vehicles able to cope with a limited number of driving situations at low 
speed  (automation  level  4)  are  expected  to  be  available  by  2020  (in  particular  urban 
shuttles  for dedicated  trips,  small  delivery  or  mobility  vehicles).  These  will  most  likely 
still  require  human  supervision  and/or  operate  on  a  very  short  range.  The  number  of 
situations  that  these  vehicles  will  be  able  to  handle  will  then  increase  with  time  (e.g.  a 
longer operating time or longer range with no human supervision, higher speed). 

Even  though  automated  vehicles  do  not  necessarily  need  to  be  connected  and  connected 
vehicles do not require automation, it is expected that in the medium term connectivity will be 
a major enabler for driverless vehicles. Therefore, the Commission will follow an integrated 
approach  between  automation  and  connectivity  in  vehicles.  When  vehicles  become 
increasingly connected and automated, they will be able to coordinate their manoeuvres, using 
active  infrastructure  support  and  enabling  truly  smart  traffic  management  for  the  smoothest 
and safest traffic flows14. 

Many vehicles are already connected with cellular technologies and all new cars are expected 
to be connected to the internet by 202215. This connectivity enables access to information on 
traffic  conditions  ahead  (e.g.  accidents,  roadworks,  environmental  conditions),  but  will  also 
allow large scale fleet data to be gathered by public authorities, such as anonymised real-life 
average  fuel/energy  consumption  or  real-time  traffic  conditions.  As  of  2019,  some  new 
vehicles  series  will  also  be  equipped  with  short-range  Wi-Fi-based  communication  devices. 
These technologies enable safety-related services requiring very low latency. They will also 
allow automated vehicles to coordinate their manoeuvres in complex traffic situations. As of 
2020, emerging 5G technology will considerably broaden the communication mix, providing 
more complex and improved services. 

3.  THE STATE OF PLAY 

Existing EU legislation is to a large extent already suitable for the placing on the market of 
automated and connected vehicles. EU vehicle approval framework legislation, modernised in 

13 Detailed system classifications:  https://www.adaptive-

ip.eu/files/adaptive/content/downloads/Deliverables%20&%20papers/AdaptIVe-SP2-v12-DL-D2.1-
System%20Classification.pdf  

14 Studies have quantitatively showed that automation without connectivity could lead to a potential deterioration 
traffic  conditions:  https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/connected-and-automated-vehicles-freeway-

of 
scenario-effect-traffic-congestion-and-network-capacity   

15 PwC, The 2017 Strategy & Digital report.  

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201816, ensures a real internal market for vehicles - Member States cannot adopt national rules 
that  contradict  EU  vehicle  legislation  -  and  a  special  procedure  is  foreseen  for  new 
technologies.  The  EU  vehicle  approval  framework  serves  as  a  model  for  international 
harmonisation  with  our  international  partners  (e.g.  Japan,  Russia  and  China)17.  The  United 
States  is  also  planning  to  implement  similar  principles  (see  text  box).  In  addition,  EU  data 
protection  rules  are  increasingly  recognised  at  international  level  as  setting  out  some  of  the 
highest standards of data protection in the world and are shaping the digital revolution in line 
with  European  values.  But  new  regulatory  changes  will  have  to  follow  in  order  to  build  a 
harmonised, complete and future-proof framework for automation. 

Other  regions  are  not  standing  still  (e.g.  United  States,  Japan  and  China)  and  are  already 
adopting strategies for automated vehicles and attracting investment in this field. For Europe 
to  remain  competitive  and  foster  employment,  it  will  be  essential  that  the  key 
technologies,  services  and  infrastructure  are  developed  and  produced  in  Europe  and 
that the necessary regulatory framework is in place.  

Strategies in the United States and Asia 

Testing  of  automated  vehicles  has  been  taking  place  for  years  in  some  parts  of  the  United 
States led by Silicon Valley companies. However, some of the states have already banned the 
use of automated vehicles on the road. As a result, the United States Congress is discussing a 
bill for a Self-Drive Act18 which will introduce principles similar to the EU vehicle approval 
framework to avoid individual states of the United States adopting laws contradicting federal 
vehicle rules.  

Testing is also taking place in China, Japan and Singapore. China has already adopted a plan 
to set up a preliminary standard system by 2020 to support low-level automated driving. Japan 
has identified autonomous driving as a key innovation to drive its economic growth and aims 
to demonstrate driverless cars in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  

Many  initiatives are already underway in  the Member States  (e.g. Germany,  France, United 
Kingdom, Sweden and Netherlands), especially for large scale testing, which is also supported 
by  the  Commission.19  There  is  however  a  need  to  better  coordinate  these  initiatives.  In  the 
Declaration of Amsterdam20, Member States called upon the Commission to develop a shared 
European strategy on automated and connected driving, to review, and where necessary, adapt 
the  EU  regulatory  framework,  to  develop  a  coordinated  approach  towards  research  and 
innovation and to deploy interoperable Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems. 

The  Commission  has  already  taken  actions  to  promote  the  deployment  of  connectivity 
infrastructure and services in the support of automated vehicles with the adoption of strategies 
for the 5th generation of communication networks ("5G")21, Cooperative Intelligent Transport 

16 Directive 2007/46/EC on vehicle approval repealed by a new Regulation on type-approval (to be published: 

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P8-TA-2018-
0179+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN). 

17 The EU is a contracting party to the United Nation 1958 international agreement on vehicle approval. 
18 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr3388 
19 See section 4. 
20 

https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/ba7ab6e2a0e14e39baa77f5b76f59d14/2016-04-08-declaration-of-

amsterdam---final1400661.pdf  

21 Communication from the European Commission "5G for Europe: An Action Plan", COM(2016) 588.  

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Systems22, and the space strategy23. The Commission has also recently proposed an initiative 
on artificial intelligence24 that will support driverless vehicles.  

The Commission has prepared the ground for a shared strategy on driverless mobility with an 
extensive stakeholder and Member State consultation process, in particular through the GEAR 
2030 high level group which adopted recommendations on automated and connected vehicles 
on  18  October  201725.  Those  recommendations  built  on  earlier  work  to  deploy  Cooperative 
Intelligent Transport Systems26 and to bring together the telecom industry and the automotive 
industry27. 

4.  MAKING  THE  EU  STRONGER  ON  TECHNOLOGIES  AND  INFRASTRUCTURE  FOR 

AUTOMATED MOBILITY 

Significant  investments  will  be  needed  to  develop  the  relevant  technologies,  to  create  the 
necessary  infrastructure  support  and  to  ensure  social  acceptance  for  automated  mobility. 
While most of the investment will come from the private sector, the EU provides significant 
stimulus for research and innovation and for deployment of targeted infrastructure. 

To maximise the benefit of public investment, the Commission will link supportive measures 
with key policy and regulatory initiatives around the use cases identified above.  

Demonstrations and large-scale testing are already taking place in the EU Member States. The 
Commission  supports  these  through  research  funding  programme  and  deployment  projects, 
and  will  help  to  better  coordinate  cross-border  testing28.  For  2014-2020,  a  total  budget  of 
around  EUR  300  million  from  the  EU's  framework  programme  for  research  and  innovation 
"Horizon 2020" has been allocated to support research and innovation on automated vehicles, 
half of which was provided through calls launched in 2016-2017.  

Calls  for  proposals  to  support  research  and  innovation  for  automated  road  transport  are 
planned for 2018-2020 with a total budget of EUR 103 million. The emphasis of these calls is 
on  large  scale  demonstration  pilot  projects  to  test  highly  automated  driving  systems  for 
passenger  cars,  efficient  freight  transport  operations  and  shared  mobility  services  in  urban 
areas.  Other  research  priorities  include  user  acceptance,  design  of  a  safe  human-machine 
interface,  road infrastructure to  support automation and testing and validation procedures of 
automated  driving  functions.  In  addition,  the  Commission  will  offer  support  in  2018  for 
testing  the  use  of  5G  connectivity  to  enable  highly  automated  driving  functions  and  new 
mobility services with a budget totalling around EUR 50 million.  

Similarly, support from the Connecting Europe Facility (a total of EUR 443 million triggering 
EUR 1,173 million of total investments) helped to digitise road transport infrastructure across 
the  EU,  in  support  of  automation.  Large-scale  deployment  initiatives  on  the  trans-European 
transport  network  were  enabled  in  16  Member  States29  and  2  associated  countries  for 

22 Communication from the European Commission on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, COM(2016) 

766. 

23 Communication from the European Commission "Space Strategy for Europe", COM(2016) 705. 
24 COM(2018) 237. 
25 

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/high-level-group-gear-2030-report-on-automotive-competitiveness-and-

sustainability_en  

26  https://www.c-roads.eu/platform.html.  The  C-ROADS  platform  brings  together  all  ongoing  Cooperative 

Intelligent Transport Systems deployment activities across the EU to ensure interoperability of services.  

27 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/cooperative-connected-and-automated-mobility-europe 
28 https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/EN/Documents/DG/action-plan-automated-and-connected-

driving.pdf?__blob=publicationFile 
29 https://www.c-roads.eu/platform.html  

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interoperable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications based on Wi-Fi 
and  3G/4G  cellular  technologies.  To  allow  synergies  between  the  transport,  telecom  and 
digital part of Connecting Europe Facility, the Commission intends to include a coordinated 
call for projects in its 2018 work programme for Connecting Europe Facility.  

Automated cars 

L3PILOT is a large scale test started in September 2017. It is unique due to its size (EUR 36 million 
EU-funding)  and  is  the  first  in  the  world  to  test  such  a  comprehensive  array  of  different  automated 
driving functions for passenger cars. 

The connected vehicle eco-system 

AUTOPILOT  is  a  large-scale  pilot  project  started  in  January  2017  and  focusing  to  the  autonomous 
vehicle  in  a  connected  environment,  enabling  the  emergence  of  connected  ecosystems  supported  by 
open technologies and platforms. The 5GCar started in June 2017 as a large research and innovation 
project developing the 5G connectivity technologies for automated cars and will evaluate the existing 
and future spectrum usage for that purpose and contribute to the standardisation efforts in the field. 

Truck platooning 

Truck platooning is the term used to describe trucks using connectivity and automation to follow each 
other at a very short distance to save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions. The ENSEMBLE project (EUR 
20  million  EU-funding)  will  start  in  summer  2018  and  will  support  the  standardisation  of 
communication protocols for multi-brand platooning.  
Member States and stakeholders called for better cross-border cooperation on testing30 as well 
as  an  increased  coordination  and  exchange  on  lessons  learnt  during  testing  on  subjects  of 
public  interest31.  Discussions  have  begun32  with  Member  States  and  industry  experts  to 
prioritise  use  cases  for  testing,  exploit  possible  synergies  between  connectivity  and 
automation  use  cases,  and  define  common  methods  for  testing,  evaluation  and  exchange  of 
knowledge.  Work  will  continue  to  develop  a  network  of  pan-European  5G  cross-border 
corridors33  for  the  large  scale  testing  and  early  deployment  of  advanced  connectivity 
infrastructure supporting connected and automated mobility.  

The  Commission  intends  to  further  develop  the  Galileo  services  and  related  vehicle 
navigation  technologies  for  driverless  mobility.  Galileo  is  a  major  asset  for  precise  and 
secured  positioning  and  for  the  integrity  and  reliability  of  digital  maps.  A  study  will  be 
launched  in  2018  to  investigate  the  question  of  integrity  and  reliability  of  digital  maps. 
Galileo  offers  already  today  accuracy  levels  beyond  those  of  other  constellations  and  will, 
through its future authentication features, provide signals of an unparalleled trust level. 

Current  EU  support  will  need  to  be  sustained  in  the  long  term  as  the  EU  is  still  some  way 
from  deploying  fully  automated  and  connected  vehicles  and  the  related  infrastructure.  The 
Commission  therefore  intends  to  propose  that  the  research  on  cooperative,  connected  and 
automated  mobility  remains  a  priority  in  the  next  framework  programme  for  research  and 
innovation. 

30 

https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/EN/Documents/DG/action-plan-automated-and-connected-

driving.pdf?__blob=publicationFile 

31 GEAR 2030 final report. 
32 Within the Intelligent Transport Systems Committee. 
33  A  set  of digital  cross-border  corridors was  identified by Member  States  to foster  large  scale  testing and  the 
deployment of 5G for connected and automated mobility along these corridors following the letter of intent of 
23 March 2017 signed by 27 Member States, Switzerland and Norway. 

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There  is  a  need  to  update  the  research  and  innovation  roadmap  for  driverless  mobility 
including  a  concrete  action  plan  for  short,  medium  and  long-term  research  and  innovation 
actions. This roadmap will be developed with the help of representatives from Member States 
with the input from experts and stakeholders34. It will serve as a basis for setting priorities for 
research and innovation investment in some key technologies (e.g. digital maps, big data, the 
internet of things, artificial intelligence, etc.) and infrastructure (mainly Galileo, telecom and 
road) with significant potential for mobility solutions for the future. 

Although a lot of research and innovation and testing is happening in Europe, the Commission 
is  considering  ways  to  ensure  further  synergies  between  EU  and  national  funding 
programmes, between supports for connectivity cooperative systems and automation, as well 
as between the research and innovation phase and the pre-deployment phase.  

The  Commission  is  making  available  today  up  to  EUR  450  million  under  the  Connecting 
Europe Facility to support digitisation in transport in support to automation and: 

 

encourages Member States  and regions to  make  use  of the opportunities offered by EU 
regional  policy  and  the  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  for  co-financing 
investments in research, innovation and deployment.  

  will work with Member States in 2018 to draw up a priority list of transport use cases for 
large  scale  testing  and  take  advantage  of  possible  synergies  between  connectivity  and 
automation use cases. 

  will put in place in 2018 one single EU wide platform grouping all relevant public and 
private  stakeholders  to  coordinate  open  road  testing  and  making  the  link  with  pre-
deployment activities. 

  will  build  on  work  already  carried  out  by  establishing  a  partnership  under  the  next 
European  multiannual  financial  framework  to  give  a  clear  long-term  framework  to  the 
strategic planning of research and pre-deployment programmes on driverless mobility at 
EU and national levels. 

  will  by  2019  offer  Galileo's  initial  high-accuracy  services  for  free,  being  the  first  to  be 

able to offer such a navigation service on a worldwide basis. 

  will  by  2019  prepare  guidelines  for  the  optimised  use  of  advanced  services  (i.e.  high-
accuracy,  robustness,  authentication of  positions)  offered  by  the  EU  satellite  navigation 
systems,  EGNOS/Galileo,  and  their  inclusion  in  vehicle  navigation  systems,  to  address 
liability and safety issues. 

5.  ENSURING AN INTERNAL MARKET FOR THE SAFE TAKE-UP OF AUTOMATED MOBILITY 

Guaranteeing a real internal market will be key to ensure legal certainty, foster investment in 
the relevant technologies and protect citizens against new risks brought by driverless vehicles. 

Allowing innovation 
The EU vehicle approval framework was overhauled in 201835. The EU is the first region in 
the world to combine vehicle approval rules with market surveillance rules. Building on this 
new  framework,  the  Commission  will  start  working  on  the development  of  a  new  approach 
for  certifying  the  safety  of  automated  vehicles  which  will  be  less  design  specific  and  more 
adapted to the evolutionary nature of these vehicles. 

34 A dedicated subgroup of the Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda. 
35  To  be  published:  http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P8-TA-

2018-0179+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN  

8 

 
 
                                                            
New  and  ground-breaking  vehicle  automation  technologies  can  already  be  validated  today 
under  the  EU  vehicle  approval  framework.36  Technologies  not  foreseen  by  EU  rules  can  be 
approved  through  an  EU  exemption  granted  on  the  basis  of  a  national  ad-hoc  safety 
assessment.  The  vehicle  can  then  be  placed  on  the  EU  market  like  any  other  EU  approved 
vehicle.  Several  technologies  have  already  been  approved  this  way.  However,  to  ensure 
mutual recognition of national ad-hoc safety assessments, it is important that Member States 
follow a common approach. 

The Commission will: 

  work  with  Member  States  in  2018  on  guidelines  to  ensure  a  harmonised  approach  for 

national ad-hoc vehicle safety assessments of automated vehicles. 

  initiate work with  Member  States and stakeholders  on a new approach for vehicle safety 

certification for automated vehicles. 

Making automated mobility safe  

The deployment of automated vehicles has significant potential to improve road safety, given 
that the human factor  error, distraction, violation of the traffic rules  is at the cause of most 
accidents. But it also creates new challenges. Driverless vehicles will have to share the roads 
or  streets  with  non-automated  cars  and  also  with  pedestrians,  cyclist  and  motorcyclists.  For 
this reason their  deployment can  only  take  place  once  overall road safety  is  guaranteed  and 
not just the safety of automated vehicle users. 

The complete revision of the General Safety Regulation for motor vehicles, presented together 
with this Communication, will provide the opportunity to cover missing aspects in the present 
vehicle safety legislation for the expected automation use cases. The revision will also allow 
the Commission  to adopt  the relevant  implementing rules. In  adopting new safety  rules, the 
Commission  will  follow  the  guiding  principles  for  human-machine  interface  proposed  by 
GEAR 203037 and ensure that road safety considerations (mixed traffic, interaction with other 
road  users)  are  fully  taken  into  account.  The  Commission  will  support  the  international 
technical harmonisation of automated vehicles within the framework of the United Nations in 
coherence with EU rules.   

It  is  also  important  to  ensure  consistency  between  national  traffic  rules  and  avoid 
contradiction  with  EU  vehicle  rules.  To  support  this,  the  Commission  proposes  to  use  the 
identification  of  the  expected  tasks  of  the  driver  and  the  vehicles  for  the  different  levels  of 
automation developed in the framework of the United Nations38. As there is currently no EU 
legislation  on  traffic  rules,  Member  States  are  invited  to  support  convergence  on  national 
traffic  rules  in  particular  at  international  level  with  instruments  such  as  the  1949  Geneva 
Convention  and  the  1968  Vienna  Convention  on  Road  Traffic39.  At  European  level,  the 
Commission  will  support  this  convergence  by  encouraging  the  coordination  of  Member 
States' authorities in the appropriate fora, e.g. high level group on road safety.  

Safe  and  high  quality  road  infrastructure  will  play  a  key  role  in  supporting  automated 
vehicles.  For  example,  the  quality  of  markings  and  signs  may  influence  the  performance  of 

36  Article  20  of  Directive  2007/46/EC.  The  new  regulation  contains  an  equivalent  provision  in  Article  39  and 

becomes applicable on 1 September 2020. 

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/high-level-group-gear-2030-report-on-automotive-competitiveness-and-

37 

sustainability_en . See Annex 3 of the report. 

38 http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29resolutions/ECE-TRANS-WP29-1140e.pdf   
39 The 1968 Convention on road traffic is applied by most of EU Member States. The 1949 Geneva (predecessor 

of the Vienna Convention) is applied by some EU Member States.  

9 

 
 
                                                            
automated vehicles. It is equally vital that when road traffic information (e.g. dynamic speed 
limits,  traffic  rules,  the  location  of  stationary  vehicles,  etc.)  is  communicated  digitally,  it  is 
understood  by  the  different  road  users.  This  implies  that  all  systems  providing  such 
information are interoperable. The Commission will support the availability and accessibility 
of such information. 

Finally,  the  Commission  will  assess  the  consequences  of  automation  for  some  existing  EU 
legislation  concerning  drivers,  such  as  Directive  2006/126/EC  on  driving  licence,  the 
Directive  2003/59/EC  on  professional  drivers  training  or  Directive  2002/15/EC  on  driving 
time.  

The Commission is now proposing new safety features for automated vehicles as part of the 
revision  of  the  General  Safety  Regulation  for  motor  vehicles  as  well  as  requirements  in  the 
Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive, and will also: 

 

 

 

present in 2018 the work priorities in the EU and in the United Nations to implement the 
new  vehicle  safety  legislation  for  automated  and  connected  vehicles  in  particular  for 
vehicles with the highest levels of automation.  
intensify coordination with Member States on traffic rules (e.g. the Geneva and Vienna 
Conventions) so that they can be adapted to automated mobility in a harmonised way. 
adopt by the end of 2018 a delegated regulation under the Intelligent Transport Systems 
Directive40  to  ensure  secured  and  trustful  communications  between  vehicles  and 
infrastructure, sound data protection level in compliance with the General Data Protection 
Regulation41 and interoperability of messages for safety-related and traffic management 
services.  

Addressing liability issues 

Liability  for  motor  vehicles  is  addressed  through  various  instruments  at  EU  level  such  as 
Motor Insurance42 Directive or Product Liability Directive43 as well as the different liability 
regimes in the Member States (e.g. traffic law, civil law, specific strict liability regimes, and 
national implementation of the EU Product Liability Directive). 

The  actual  cause  of  events  that  lead  to  damage  or  incident  is  decisive  for  the  attribution  of 
liability. Therefore the Commission is proposing that automated vehicles are fitted with data 
recorders to clarify who was driving (the vehicle's autonomous system or the driver) during an 
accident. 

On the compensation of victims, the Motor Insurance Directive already provides for a quick 
compensation of victims including where an automated vehicle is involved. The insurer can 
then take legal action against a vehicle manufacturer under the Product Liability Directive if 
there is a malfunction/defect of the automated driving system. The European Commission just 
evaluated  the  Product  Liability  Directive  and  as  a  follow-up,  it  will  issue  an  interpretative 
guidance clarifying important concepts in the Directive including in the light of technological 
developments44. The Motor Insurance Directive has recently undergone an evaluation, which 

40 Directive 2010/40/EU on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems. 
41 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data 

and on the free movement of such data. 

42 Directive 2009/103/EC relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles. 
43 Council Directive 85/374/EEC concerning liability for defective products. 
44  The  broader  case  of  liability  linked  to  the  Internet  of  Things  and  artificial  intelligence  is  covered  by  the 
Commission Communication on Artificial intelligence (COM(2018) 237) and the accompanying Commission 
Staff Working Document on liability for emerging digital technologies (SWD(2018) 137). 

10 

 
 
                                                            
concluded  that  no  changes  are  necessary  as  regards  autonomous  vehicles:  They  will  be 
required to have third party liability insurance in line with the Directive45.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  the  need  for  additional  EU  instruments  as  the 
technology further develops. 

The Commission is proposing to regulate data recorders for automated vehicles as part of the 
revision of the General Safety Regulation for motor vehicles to clarify who was driving (the 
vehicle or the driver) during an accident.  

Fostering vehicle connectivity for automation  

transport  system.  The  different 

The  ability  of  vehicles  to  communicate  will  be  key  to  integrate  automated  vehicles  in  the 
overall 
technologies  are 
complementary and evolving over time with improvements (for example in coverage, speed, 
latency,  security).  This  enables  more  and  more  advanced  use  cases  of  automated  vehicles. 
Although most of the investment for connectivity should come from the private sector, the EU 
can help in providing regulatory approaches that foster the investments needed in vehicles and 
communication infrastructure (road and telecoms). 

types  of  communication 

To  enable  safety-related  services  that  require  very  low  latency  several  manufacturers  have 
committed  to  fit  in  addition  short  range  communication  devices  (Wi-Fi  based)  on  vehicles 
from  2019  and  Road  operators  have  also  started  to  pre-deploy  roadside  communication 
infrastructure, allowing direct interaction between vehicles or between vehicles and the road 
infrastructure.  As  of  2020,  5G  connectivity  infrastructure  is  equally  expected  to  be  an 
important enabler of connected and automated mobility as well as empower innovative digital 
ecosystems around cars. 

On  vehicle-to-vehicle  communications,  the  Commission  follows  a  technology-neutral 
approach in line with the EU Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems46 and has 
not  proposed  mandatory  deployment  of  specific  technologies  at  this  stage.  However,  for 
certain  applications  such  as  platooning  (see  also  box  p.  7)  there  is  an  expressed  need  for 
regulation to ensure data standardisation of vehicle communication protocols across different 
brands and ensure proper response from the vehicles47. Platooning is a clear automation use 
case  where  vehicle-to-vehicle  communication  is  essential.  Multi-brand  platooning  will  be 
supported by a call under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework programme. 

The  increasing  use  of  radio  equipment  (short-range  radar,  direct  connectivity  between 
vehicles,  network  connectivity)  will  require  more  radio  spectrum  bands.  Existing  spectrum 
access opportunities are being reviewed in particular to ensure adequate spectrum in the 5.9 
GHz  band  for  safety-related  functions  and  catering  for  a  wide  range  of  applications.  The 
Commission  will  support  the  coexistence  of  different  radio  technologies  using  the  5.9  GHz 
spectrum band while taking into account the principles of uncompromised safety, technology 
neutrality and efficient spectrum use. Ongoing technical studies involving both the European 
Conference  of  Postal  and  Telecommunications  Administrations  and 
the  European 
Telecommunications  Standards  Institute  could  lead  in  2019  to  an  update  of  the  relevant 
Commission Implementing Decision.  

45  https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultations/finance-2017-motor-insurance_en.  The 

full  conclusions  of 

the 

evaluation are forthcoming. 

46 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2016%3A766%3AFIN  
47 http://www.acea.be/uploads/publications/Platooning_roadmap.pdf  

11 

 
 
                                                            
Furthermore,  there  is  a  potential  gap  in  guidance  on  the  use  of  5G  pioneer  spectrum  bands 
used  for  large  scale  testing.  Where  appropriate,  regulatory,  operational  adjustments  will  be 
discussed  in  the  Radio  Spectrum  Committee  and/or  the  Telecommunication  Conformity 
Assessment and Market Surveillance Committee to ensure an efficient use of spectrum. 

The Commission is proposing to regulate platooning under the revision of the General Safety 
Regulation  for  motor  vehicles  to  ensure  standardisation  of  data  exchange  across  different 
brands. The implementing legislation will build on the results of the call on platooning (2018-
2020) in the Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework programme and complement 
the delegated Regulation on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems. 

Ensuring cybersecurity, data protection and data access 

Vehicle  connectivity  and  system  integration  of  thousands  of  components  originating  from 
different  sources  bring  new  threats  of  cyber-attacks  such  as  remote  taking  control  of  the 
vehicle. At present there is no sector specific approach on the protection of the vehicle against 
cyberattacks. For data protection on the other hand, the EU rules on the protection of personal 
data apply to any processing of personal data, including those collected from vehicles48. 

Considerable  work  has  been  done  on  cybersecurity  in  the  recent  months.  On  13  September 
2017 the Commission adopted a cybersecurity package including a proposal for a voluntary 
certification  framework  of  information  and  communication  technology  (ICT)  products  and 
services49.  In  addition,  guidelines  have  been  developed  in  the  framework  of  the  United 
Nations  for  the  protection  of  vehicles  against  cyberattacks  and  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
Commission to implement these guidelines in the EU vehicle rules. Finally, as announced in 
the  European  Strategy  on  Cooperative  Intelligent  Transport  Systems,  the  Commission  has 
published  guidance50  on  the  certificate  and  security  policy  needed  for  secure  and  trustful 
communication  between  vehicles  and  infrastructure  for  road  safety  and  traffic  management 
related messages.  

Automated and connected vehicles will generate a large amount of data that could be shared 
through  communication  devices.  These  data  have  an  enormous  potential  to  create  new  and 
personalised  services  and  products,  revolutionise  existing  business  models  (e.g.  roadside 
assistance,  vehicle  insurance,  vehicle  repair,  car  rental,  etc.)  or  lead  to  the  development  of 
new ones. Different economic actors are competing for such data. Vehicle manufacturers or 
digital  platforms  have  a  privileged  access  to  car  data  and  to  vehicle  resources,  such  as  the 
possibility to propose services directly to the driver by using the vehicle dashboard. In its non-
legislative resolution of 13 March 201851 on "A European strategy on Cooperative Intelligent 
Transport  Systems",  the  European  Parliament  called  upon  the  Commission  to  publish  a 
legislative  proposal  that  ensures  a  level  playing  field  on  access  to  in-vehicle  data  and 
resources, protecting consumer rights and promoting innovation and fair competition.  

Given the emergence of this new economy, the Commission's approach on access to data and 
resources  strikes  a  balance  between  fair  competition,  the  possibility  for  consumer  to  have 
access  to  different  services,  safety,  cybersecurity,  in  full  compliance  with  the  legislation  on 

48 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data 
and on the free movement of such data. 
49 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/cyber-security  
50 Certificate and security policy documents available at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/its/c-its_en 
51 European Parliament document A8-0036/18/ P8_TA -PROV(2018)0063. 

12 

 
 
                                                            
competition  and  on  the  protection  of  personal  data  such  as  user  consent  for  data  sharing. 
There is already EU legislation specifically covering the fair access to repair and maintenance 
information by independent repairers. This legislation was recently modernised to include the 
repair and maintenance activities supported by wireless networks52. For other type of data, the 
Communication  "Towards  a  common  European  data  space"53  published  on  25  April  2018 
provides further guidance on the business-to-business and business- to-government exchange 
of  data  in  addition  to  the  Communication  on  Building  a  European  Data  Economy54  on  data 
location  and  the  guiding  principles  laid  down  in  the  Cooperative  Intelligent  Transport 
Systems platform report55. The proposed Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data56 
will take away unjustified data localisation restrictions, enhancing the freedom of businesses 
to  store  or  process  their  non-personal  data  anywhere  they  want  within  the  EU.  However,  a 
Commission  study  gave  indications  that  centralisation  of  in-vehicle  data  on  so-called 
'extended  vehicle  data  platform  servers',  currently  implemented  by  several  vehicle 
manufacturers,  might  in  itself  not  be  sufficient  to  ensure  fair  and  undistorted  competition 
between service providers.57 The Commission therefore intends to improve access and reuse 
of  mobility  and  vehicle  data  for  commercial  and  non-commercial  purposes  as  part  of  a 
forthcoming Recommendation (see text box below). 

The  Commission  will  continue  monitoring  the  situation  on  access  to  in-vehicle  data  and 
resources and will consider further options for an enabling framework for vehicle data sharing 
to  enable  fair  competition  in  the  provision  of  services  in  the  digital  single  market,  while 
ensuring compliance with the legislation on the protection of personal data 

Finally as some of the data generated by vehicles may be of public interest, the Commission 
will consider the need to extend the right of public authorities to have access to more data. In 
particular, it will consider specifications under the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive58 
regarding  the  access  to  data  generated  by  vehicles  to  be  shared  with  public  authority  for 
improved  traffic  management.  It  will  also  consider  requirements  to  collect  large-scale  real-
world fuel/energy consumption information in an anonymised form within the framework of 
carbon dioxide emission standards for light-duty vehicles (cars and vans)59. 

The Commission is proposing to regulate the protection of vehicles against cyber-attacks as 
part of the revision of the General Safety Regulation for motor vehicles and will: 

  consider the need for specifications for access to vehicle data for public authorities' needs, 
in  particular  traffic  management  in  2018/2019  (delegated  act  under  the  Intelligent 
Transport  Systems  Directive)  and  in  2019/2020  for  the  collection  of  anonymised  large-
scale real-world fuel/energy consumption information. 

  implement a pilot on common EU-wide cybersecurity infrastructures and processes needed 
for secure and trustful communication between vehicles and infrastructure for road safety 

52To  be  published:  http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P8-TA-

2018-0179+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN 

53 COM(2018) 232. 
54 COM(2017) 9. 
55 Final Report of January 2016: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/themes/its/doc/c-its-platform-

final-report-january-2016.pdf 

56 Proposal for a Regulation on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data, COM (2017) 495. 
57 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/2017-05-access-to-in-vehicle-data-and-resources.pdf 
58 Directive 2010/40/EC. 
59 Commission Proposal COM(2017) 676, CO2 targets for new cars and vans up to 2030. 

13 

 
 
                                                            
and  traffic  management  related  messages  according  to  the  published  guidance  on  the 
certificate and security policy. 

  issue in 2018 as a first step a Recommendation on the use of pioneer spectrum for 5G large 
scale testing, cybersecurity and on a data governance framework that enables data sharing, 
in line with the initiatives of the 2018 Data Package, and with data protection and privacy 
legislation.  

6.  ANTICIPATING EFFECTS OF AUTOMATED MOBILITY ON SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY 

Because  automated  and  driverless  vehicles  are  still  under  tests,  the  long  term  effects  of 
driverless  mobility  on  the  transport  system,  the  economy,  the  environment  and  on  existing 
jobs are still largely unknown. Although it is difficult at this stage to have a full picture, these 
long term effects need to be assessed as soon as possible to anticipate any rebound effects and 
to take mitigating measures. It is also necessary to tackle as soon as possible emerging ethical 
issues to ensure that technologies are developed in line with European values. 

The Council, in its conclusions on the digitalisation of transport adopted on 5 December 2017, 
emphasised  the  importance  of  wide  societal  dialogue  on  these  issues  and  called  on  the 
Commission  to  "…assess  the  socioeconomic  and  environmental  impact  of  automation  and 
digitalisation in the field of transport taking into account the new skills needed in that sector, 
and, if necessary, to propose measures to address those impacts".  

The  Commission  intends  to  assess  these  issues,  discuss  them  with  all  interested  parties, 
including  the  social  partners,  and  possibly  consider  regulatory  activity  at  EU  level60.  It  is 
essential to carefully consider the concerns of the future users of these systems and other road 
users. 

More  research  is  needed  to  anticipate  the  long  term  effects  of  automated  and  connected 
driving.  For  instance,  it  is  anticipated  that  driverless  mobility  will  decrease  transport  costs, 
free  driver's  time,  and  foster  car  sharing,  thereby  improving  air  quality  and  urban  planning. 
But lower transport costs and freeing the driver from driving tasks could also lead to more or 
longer  journeys,  a  bigger  increase  in  total  traffic,  and  subsequently  an  increase  in  total 
emissions  and  congestion.  Another  concern  is  that  little  is  known  about  the  interaction 
between  automated  vehicles  and  other  road  users  in  mixed  traffic  conditions.  The  Horizon 
2020 transport work programme 2018-2020 includes projects to undertake in-depth analyses 
on behaviour of users and public acceptance and to assess the medium and long term impacts 
of automated and connected driving. 

The  Commission  has  already  carried  out  a  comprehensive  review  of  existing  studies  on  the 
expected socio-economic impacts of automated and connected vehicles on the EU economy 
and jobs. The results of this review are published together with this Communication61. With 
23  per  cent  of  global  motor  vehicle  production  and  almost  72  per  cent  of  inland  freight 
transported  by  road  in  Europe,  automated  mobility  is  expected  to  substantially  benefit  the 

60  For  instance  the  International  Transport  Forum  Organisation  for  Economic  Co-operation  and  Development 
study on "managing the transition to driverless road freight transport", proposes the setting up of a temporary 
permit system. The fee paid by the fleet operators to obtain a permit would make it  possible to manage the 
speed of automation and to generate funds to retrain the workforce and help people made redundant. 

61  Commission  study 

(2018):  https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-

reports/analysis-possible-socio-economic-effects-connected-cooperative-and-automated-mobility-ccam-
europe  

14 

 
 
                                                            
European economy. The revenues for the EU automotive industry could for instance exceed 
EUR  620  billion  by  2025  and  EUR  180  billion  for  the  EU  electronic  sector.  The  economic 
impacts from automated and connected mobility will bring benefits far beyond the automotive 
industry  but  could  possibly  affect  negatively  some  sectors  like  insurance,  maintenance  and 
repair.  The  impact  of  automated  mobility  will  be  strongly  dependent  on  the  ability  of 
European industry to keep pace with international competitors (especially from the IT sector). 
Aspects related to social inclusiveness and ways to address the needs of vulnerable users will 
also play a role in making sure that the gains benefit the society as a whole, including those 
who  may  be  cut  off  from  mobility  services  today,  such  as  the  elederly  and  the  disabled.  
Particular  attention  shall  be  paid  to  increased  accessibility  of  remote  areas  and  wider 
provision of mobility services. 

On employment, it is anticipated that the development of new technologies and services will 
require  new  skills  and  highly  paid  jobs  (engineers,  researchers)  together  with  new  medium 
skilled  jobs  to  maintain  these  new  technologies.  While  it  may  well  reduce  demand  for 
professional  drivers,  it  could  also  help  to  make  driving  jobs  more  attractive  and  remedy 
current driver shortage62. It is still difficult for the technology to completely replace drivers in 
all  driving  situations.  So  it  is  likely  that  during  a  transition  phase,  instead  of  replacing  the 
driver, the vehicle will allow the driver to perform other tasks, for instance freight planning,  
during driving in limited conditions (e.g. on the motorway) as it is the case in aircrafts. The 
more  gradual  the  introduction  of  these  technologies,  the  higher  the  probability  that  the 
negative implications on employment will be absorbed by the economic system. 

In  order  to  manage  this  transformation,  workers  whose  jobs  are  changing  or  may  disappear 
due to automation must have every opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge they need, 
to  master  new  technology  and  to  be  supported  during  labour  market  transitions.  National 
schemes  will  be  essential  for  providing  up-skilling  and  training  with  support  from  the 
European Social Fund and other dedicated projects.  

The Commission, with its digital single market strategy63, and Skills Agenda for Europe64 is 
putting priority on digital skills at all levels, from basic to high-end. In order to deliver sector-
specific skills solutions, the Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on skills was launched as part 
of  the  Skills  Agenda65.  The  blueprint  is  a  framework  for  strategic  cooperation  between  key 
stakeholders such as businesses, trade unions research, education and training institutions, in 
order  to  overcome  skills  shortage  and  prepare  for  digital  transition.  Five  pilot  sectors  have 
been selected for the first wave of calls and the automotive is one of them.  

In addition a three-year research project called 'Skilful'" (running until September 2019) was 
launched under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Skilful studies which 
transport professions are likely to disappear and which are likely to be created in the different 
modes of transport. It also assesses future skills and training needs.  

62  The  International  Transport  Forum  Organisation  for  Economic  Co-operation  and  Development  study  on 
"managing the transition to driverless road freight transport" estimated the demand for drivers in Europe could 
decrease down to 1 million by 2030 from 3.2 million drivers existing today. 

63  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2017%3A228%3AFIN.  It  targets  digital  skills 

for all (developing digital skills to enable all citizens to be active in our digital society). 

64  http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223 
65  http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1415&langId=en 

15 

 
 
                                                            
Moreover, the European Pillar of Social Rights provides a comprehensive policy framework 
to  assist  in  labour  market  transitions  through  access  to  effective  employment  and  social 
services, access to training and adequate income support. In this respect, the Commission has 
adopted  a  proposal  to  strengthen  access  to  social  protection  –  in  particular  for  the  self-
employed and atypical workers. 

Ethical issues are an equally important topic for automated mobility. Automated vehicles will 
have to be safe, respect human dignity and personal freedom of choice. The Commission has 
recently  set  up  the  European  Artificial  intelligence  (AI)  Alliance66  tasked  to  develop  draft 
ethical  guidelines  for  artificial  intelligence,  which  will  provide  a  horizontal  approach  on 
ethical issues for autonomous systems with relevance also for automated vehicles. However a 
complementary  sectorial  approach  to  driverless  mobility  will  be  needed  given  the  specific 
issues  of  the  transport  system  (e.g.  road  safety).  Member  States  have  already  moved  ahead 
with the establishment of a task force on ethical aspects of automated and connected driving 
to specify those ethical issues that should be addressed jointly at EU level67. As a follow up to 
the task force the Commission will provide a dedicated Forum, working in collaboration with 
the  European  Group  on  Ethics  in  Science  and  New  Technologies68  and  the  European  AI 
Alliance, to facilitate discussions at the European level. 

Driverless  mobility  is  still  at  its  early  stages.  The  long-term  impacts  are  uncertain  and  will 
depend on how fast and how far the technology will develop and the market responds. It will 
also  depend  on  how  public  authorities  support  and  steer  this  development  to  ensure  that  all 
segments  of  society  benefit  from  the  new  mobility  services.  The  Commission  intends  to 
continue  monitoring  and  assessing  these  issues  and  consulting  with  all  interested  parties.  It 
may also consider regulatory activity at EU level, where needed.  

66 The European AI Alliance is a broad multi-stakeholder forum that will be set up by the Commission in 2018 to 
discuss  the  future  of  AI  in  Europe.  The  European  AI  Alliance  will  work  in  cooperation  with  the  European 
Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies. 

67  2nd  High  Level  Structured  Dialogue  organised  in  September  2017  as  a  follow  up  of  the  2016  Amsterdam 

declaration. 

68  The  European  Group  on  Ethics  in  Science  and  New  Technologies  is  an  advisory  group  of  the  European 

Commission established by Commission Decision (EU) 2016/835. 

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The Commission will: 

 

 

  monitor  and  assess  the  medium  and  long  term  impacts  of  automated  and  connected 
driving  in  particular  in  the  Horizon  2020  automated  transport  Work  Programme  2018-
2020. 
consult interested parties on the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of driverless 
mobility.  
support the acquisition of new skills, retain and reskill the workforce in the sector through 
the new skills agenda for Europe and evaluate the options for facilitating the transition to 
automation in the road sector. 
support Member States in their effort to provide smooth labour market transitions for the 
affected workers through quality employment and social services, access to training, and 
social protection in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights. 
provide an EU Forum to address specific ethical issues raised by driverless mobility. 

 

 

7.  CONCLUSION 

Connected  and  automated  mobility  is  poised  to  transform  the  way  we  move  and  the  way 
vehicles are used, sold and owned. It will open up new areas for business development and 
pave the way for new mobility services. The comprehensive EU strategy aims to set the path 
for  the  EU,  Member  States,  industry,  social  partners  and  civil  society  to  work  together  and 
ensure that the EU seizes the opportunities offered by driverless mobility, while anticipating 
and mitigating new challenges for society. With its strong industrial base and supported by an 
ambitious  research  and  innovation  programme  and  the  legal  framework  put  forward  in  this 
strategy, Europe has the strength to compete globally. 

The  Commission  now  calls  upon  all  parties  concerned,  in  particular  on  Member  States, 
industry,  social  partners  and  civil  society  to  support  the  approach  presented  in  this 
Communication. In a fast-changing world, Europe must seize this opportunity to be a leader 
in  delivering  safe,  efficient,  socially  responsible  and  environmentally  friendly  driverless 
mobility for EU citizens.    

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