Debate: EU Road Safety Policy Framework - – Recommendations on next steps towards "Vision Zero"
Date: MONDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

While the number of road deaths fell by an unprecedented 17% in 2020, this was due largely to lower traffic volumes as a result of the pandemic. The figure of 19 000 fatalities across the EU remains unacceptably high. In the sustainable and smart mobility strategy, the Commission reiterated its commitment to implementing the EU road safety policy framework and bringing down to close to zero the death toll for all modes of transport.  However, I want to stress that the Vision Zero is a joint responsibility. Success will depend on all of us playing our part from European, national and regional and local authorities, to police and health services, from all road users, employers to bike share operators, to car makers. We all have an interest in making our roads safer in partnership. I can assure you the Commission is working very closely with the Member States to ensure an effective implementation of the safe-system approach throughout Europe.  Ms Kountoura’s report includes a number of constructive proposals and recommendations to which the Commission will give due consideration. I shall highlight a few of these issues.  The Commission fully agrees that road safety is an integral part of sustainable and smart mobility. There can be no sustainability without safety. As we build transport infrastructure, we need it to be both green and safe. When we improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians for instance, we both encourage reduction of our carbon footprint, healthy active mobility and we make it safer.  Indeed, as the EU becomes more urban, road safety is becoming increasingly an urban question, and vulnerable road users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists now account for 70% of traffic fatalities in our cities. Much of our current focus is on preparing a new legislative package, including revisions of the Driving Licence Directive and the directive on cross-border enforcement of traffic rules.  We will also update the rules on roadworthiness where we will be looking both at emissions and safety elements, as well as odometer fraud. And we are also looking closely into factors such as speed and alcohol consumption and reflecting on possible EU recommendations to address them. More specifically on speed, we take note of the Parliament’s position and the strong engagement of stakeholders at global and local level. We are looking very closely into this issue, in particular assessing the gains for road safety in those European cities which set a maximum speed of 30 km per hour in residential areas. We are also working closely with our partners to ensure that EU funding can be targeted towards road safety projects.  Of course, better infrastructure is a key factor in improving road safety. We have encouraged investment in road safety upgrades as part of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. European Investment Bank loans, structural and cohesion funds and the Connecting Europe Facility also provide additional avenues to incentivise actions in this field.  The Commission is also grateful to the European Parliament for its support for the European Road Safety Exchange, which is a twinning project bringing safety professionals from different EU Member States together to help address specific road safety problems. The feedback today has been very positive. We are making good progress on establishing a first set of key road safety performance indicators based on a common methodology, and we expect the first set of results next year.  We look forward to engaging with the Member States and the Parliament to help shape future work. We have also relaunched an important European road safety tool, the European Road Safety Charter. This is a huge network of over 3 000 people, organisations, civil society and companies with an interest in road safety. It offers a perfect opportunity to share and reward good practice and to learn from each other.  The 2021 EU Road Safety Awards ceremony will take place on 18 November, and Parliament is invited to help us make this event a real success. The Commission fully shares the need for EU road safety policy to be adaptable to change, in particular with regard to the development of automated vehicles.  An EU partnership under Horizon Europe on connected, cooperative and automated mobility has been set up to promote and facilitate large-scale testing in this field. Our goal is to enable the safe introduction of automation on EU roads. The work of the partnership will go hand-in-hand with policy and legislative updates needed to take full advantage of these developments for safer, more sustainable and inclusive mobility.  The Commission takes note of your proposals for staging a European year of road safety and the creation of a new agency for road transport. We recognise the potential benefits of both, but also need to consider the costs, of course. We will continue to reflect on these options and report back to you on progress achieved.  Once again, I thank the rapporteur, Ms Kountoura, and the shadows for preparing this important report, and the Commission looks forward to its adoption in plenary later this week.