Brussels, 03/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - The "European Car-Free Day" operation, scheduled for 22 September 2000, will be kicked off on Friday 4 February in Brussels by the Commission and the nine Member States already involved in the initiative. The operation has a threefold objective: a) to raise the awareness of local officials and Union citizens of the urgency of changing urban mobility patterns and the advantages of a car-free environment for the quality of life and the environment; b) to create a platform for dialogue and information on the development of transport plans; c) to enable local communities to test new measures in situ (gas-powered buses, pedestrian zones, bike paths, electric cars, etc.).
At the kick-off conference, Margot Wallström, European Commissioner responsible for the environment, and Ministers José Socrates (Portugal), Dominique Voynet (France), Edo Ronchi (Italy) and Isabelle Durant (Belgium), will sign a "European Car-Free Day Pact" in which they will undertake to facilitate organisation of the event by local authorities and will invite fellow Ministers from other Member States to join them in this initiative.
The European Car-Free Day follows the "in town without my car" day inaugurated by France in 1998 and observed successfully in 66 French and 92 Italian towns (plus six Swiss towns) with the financial support of the Life-Environment programme. Of the 22 million individuals who participated in this campaign, 80% expressed the wish to see it repeated regularly in the future.
Decided upon last year by the Environment Council, creation of the European Car-Free Day is expected to give new dynamism to the network of Car-Free Cities, which now includes some 70 European cities. This network was created in 1974 by Eurocities and the Commission's Directorate General for the Environment to enable local authorities to examine, develop and share best practices in the area of sustainable mobility.