European Mobility Week: Golden opportunity to boost Europe’s mobility eco-system

The European Commission is launching its European Mobility Week from September 16 to 22 with the objective of not only promoting active and zero-emission mobility in cities, but also making them safer, greener, more inclusive and accessible. 

The next few months are critical if we are to make progress on some of the important legislative initiatives that the Commission has announced in their Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy in December 2020, and in the Fit for 55 package launched on July 14 this year. 

Moving away from fossil fuels across transport modes 

One of the important cornerstones of the Fit for 55 package is to strengthen the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and apply it to sectors such as maritime and aviation to reduce emissions. From 2026, road transport will also be subject to ETS with a focus on the kinds of fuels being used.  

For the road transport sector, the Commission has introduced proposals to revisit the 2030 CO2 emission reduction targets from the current –37.5 percent to –55 percent compared to 2021 levels. Furthermore, only the sales of zero emission cars would be allowed as of January 2035. 

In reality, this means moving away from diesel and gasoline cars to either electric cars or fuel cell vehicles.  

This move will be supported on the one hand by a revision of the 2014 Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive, forcing member states to invest more in charging infrastructure for either battery electric or fuel cell vehicles (covering both passenger car and commercial vehicles). 

On the other hand, there will also be new battery regulation setting for the first time ever environmental performance standards for batteries. 

All these proposals are meant to accelerate the transition to more sustainable mobility solutions on road, air and water. For both aviation and maritime, the focus is on promoting the uptake of more sustainable fuels. 

Proposals to foster safer and smarter mobility 

Besides these proposals which foster sustainable mobility, over the next months we will also focus on more initiatives to contribute towards making cities safer and greener. In this regard, it is worthwhile highlighting the proposal to revise the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) directive enabling vehicles to connect with infrastructure and exchange data to make transport safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. 

An important initiative to watch will be the implementation of the regulation for the approval of connected and automated vehicles.  

Being an implementing act under the type approval directive, this proposal may either enhance or restrict innovation to make vehicles more connected and automated. The key will be to ensure that the approach being followed is also consistent with the Commission’s Communication on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future to enable a stronger, more competitive economy that masters and shapes technology in the space of smarter mobility systems. 

As the Commission concluded in their Fit for 55 package, the make-or-break decade has already started.  

Important initiatives launched by the European Commission to support a more sustainable and smarter mobility system for Europe will now be the topic of discussion for the European Parliament and Council.  

Now is the time for everybody who is actively involved in developing new mobility solutions to engage with relevant stakeholders, including the EU institutions which are significant when it comes to deciding on these proposals.