Amsterdam, 14/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 14 April, EU member states' transport ministers signed the Amsterdam Declaration, which aims to ensure the rise of autonomous connected vehicles by 2019. The document was signed at their Council meeting in Amsterdam with EU environment ministers (see other article).
The Amsterdam Declaration is divided into five large sections: - the shared objectives for laying down a coherence European legislative framework; - a common plan based on these objectives; - action to be taken at member state level, including the introduction of high-level informal dialogue; - actions to be taken by the European Commission, which is urged to develop a European strategy based on the Amsterdam Declaration - a section aimed at industry.
Transport Commissioner Violeta Bule, who is very active in the domain of smart transport, said the declaration was a very important stage in the introduction of these new technologies, which will turn the transport sector upside-down (see EUROPE 11474 and EUROPE 11404). She said the challenge was to avoid fragmentation of the legal framework for the technologies.
The Commission is currently developing an action plan for C-ITS, the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems Platform, she said, and listed domains where European coordination is required, such as interoperability, road safety and cybersecurity. She pointed out that the Commission was working on this but wanted to leave space for innovation and therefore was not yet planning to introduce legislation.
Quizzed by this newsletter about the potential social consequences of the rise of these technologies, Bulc said she preferred to see the glass as half full and autonomous cars would enable many disabled people to gain their independence and find it easier to access the labour market.
Secretary general of the European car manufacturers' association (ACEA), Erik Jonnaert, who had been invited to address the ministers, welcomed the initiative. As the first time that a policy decision had been taken at European level in this domain. He said the technology was here and now had to be deployed because it has huge economic potential, although he said there were many regulatory challenges to be dealt with.
In response to a question from this newsletter about the obstacles currently blocking the rise of this sector, Jonnaert mentioned the first trial of an automised lorry convoy earlier this month (see EUROPE 11528), which had required lengthy, cumbersome authorisation processes in each country, and different safety regulations, particularly for the distance between vehicles. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)