Brussels, 29/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, nine member states - Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia, along with Spain - pledged at the Competitiveness Council of 26-27 November to undertake strategic work on electric mobility and other technologies for clean and energy-efficient transport. “The electric vehicle is not only a solution for efficient and sustainable mobility, but an important opportunity for the European automotive industry and connected sectors, such as information and communication technologies and energy production and distribution. If managed correctly, electric mobility is one of the key technologies that can grant employment and growth of European industry in the coming decade,” reads a joint declaration signed by the industry ministers of the nine countries. “We believe that the electric vehicle needs to be put at the centre of development and competitiveness prospects, linking research and development, innovation, industrial development and sustainability. We also believe that the creation of an integrated, fully interoperable pan-European charging system is a key challenge in this endeavour, and we call for a rapid and effective approach to standardisation at EU level,” the ministers state, calling for meetings of the European experts group to take place frequently and regularly in order to have a final common EU standard for electric vehicles by mid-2011. Ministers call on the European Commission to provide financial support for pilot projects, and in particular trans-national projects, in electric mobility. (E.H./transl.rt)