High-Level Dialogue of Member States on CAD – Joint Commitments and Call for Action
Gathered in Ghent (Belgium), under the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Member States have signed today, 19 June 2024 , a pledge to jointly commit to a connected and automated transport future in Europe.
The document includes a call for action towards the European Commission and the Industry to support and contribute to creating the right (regulatory) environment to overcome societal challenges and objectives of European, national, regional and local authorities, in particular regarding improving road safety and providing sustainable, inclusive and affordable transport to all.
The meeting, organised over two days by the Flemish Ministry of Mobility and Public Works gathered representatives of 16 EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK as well as many key experts in the field from the European Commission, industry, European associations, and researchers.
On the first day, among others, Peter Urban, the CCAM Association Cluster 3 (Validation) Leader had an opportunity to present the Update of the ERTRAC CCAM Roadmap on Use Cases.
Many discussions focused on removing barriers for CAD in terms of on-road CCAM testing permits, traffic regulations, and type approval. Very prominent here was input from the CCAM project FAME and EC DG GROW working together with the EC Joint Research Centre.
Another angle of debate was the government’s role in supporting shared autonomous mobility.
On 19 June representatives of the following countries endorsed the joint commitments: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The representatives of the Belgian presidency signed the document and passed it on to the European Commission.
Based on the joint commitments, the European Forum for Automated Transport was initiated, where the EU Member States, voluntarily, will be able to discuss among themselves the deployment and use of automated vehicles in Europe.
In that Forum, the Member States are committed to:
- Share information
- Exchange best practices
- Favour mutual understanding of the national implication once the automated vehicles hit the road
- Produce, on a voluntary basis, recommendations for next steps of deployment
To close the meeting, inspiring speeches were delivered by Sigrid de Vries from ACEA, Karen Vancluysen from POLIS, Steve Phillips from CEDR, Joost Vantomme from ERTICO, and Jane Amilhat from EC DG RTD. Everyone agreed that CCAM is not only about technology but also, or mostly, about the societal benefits that this technology can bring. As such, it should be perceived as a tool rather than an end in itself.
*Photos & Video, curtesy from © Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works
