Skip to main content

European Commission proposal to increase research and investment in Europe’s transportation sector

The EU is launching a new plan, Research and Innovation for Europe’s Future Mobility, that aims to develop a long-term policy strategy that among other goals, is to reduce road casualties to almost zero and greenhouse gas emission from the transport sector by 60 per cent in 2050. The plan doesn’t propose any new EU funding or regulations but instead proposes an initiative to meet with Member States and other relevant stakeholder to discuss policy priorities and objectives. Speaking about the plan, Vice Pres
September 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The EU is launching a new plan, Research and Innovation for Europe’s Future Mobility, that aims to develop a long-term policy strategy that among other goals, is to reduce road casualties to almost zero and greenhouse gas emission from the transport sector by 60 per cent in 2050.

The plan doesn’t propose any new EU funding or regulations but instead proposes an initiative to meet with Member States and other relevant stakeholder to discuss policy priorities and objectives.

Speaking about the plan, Vice President of the 1690 European Commission, Siim Kallas said: “This new initiative will help our transport system to develop into an even more efficient, sustainable and user-friendly system to reach our mobility goals. It will impact positively on growth and jobs in Europe.”

The transport plan joins an increasing range of ‘roadmaps’, Strategic Agendas, and other broad policy pronouncements from the Commission, that  aim to have a positive impact on growth and jobs in Europe.

It also follows on from a 2011 White Paper on Transport which laid out the vision, objectives and strategies for creating a single European transport area.

The Commission estimates that the additional investment needed to invent vehicles, equipment and vehicle-charging infrastructure to achieve the emission-reduction goals for the European transport system will cost around one trillion euros between 2010 and 2030, or about the same amount EU households spend on transport in one year.

Two main funding options have been identified. Should it be approved,  the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) which was proposed by the Commission in 2011 to fund €50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks would be the primary source as it has a proposed budget of €31.7 linked to transport. The second major source of funding linked directly to these objectives is Horizon 2020, which includes a proposed budget of €6.8 billion euros for research and innovation on "smart, green and integrated transport".

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • iMobility Forum discusses implementation of C-ITS in Europe
    February 3, 2015
    Around 90 ITS stakeholders participated in the fifth iMobility Forum Plenary meeting , which discussed the high level framework necessary to implement a roll-out of C-ITS and vehicle automation in Europe, the respective roles of business and policy makers in terms of infrastructure investments, data protection, communication efforts for public acceptance; and who should take the lead in which area. The meeting also debated the regulatory framework needed for global implementation. Opening the meeting, E
  • Oregon tests new mileage-base charging scheme
    August 5, 2013
    Jack Opiola from D’Artagnan Consulting LLP explains Oregon’s latest moves which mandated a trial of mileage-based road use charging. In 1919, Oregon made the 20th century’s most significant contribution to transportation funding policy, becoming the first state in America to implement a gas tax to pay for roads. This summer Oregon’s Legislature passed, and Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law, Senate Bill 810 which requires a distance-based road usage charge for 5,000 volunteer vehicles by 1 July 2015. T
  • The scourge of poor air quality and rising pollution levels and how they can be tackled
    December 20, 2021
    Arguably, air pollution is one of the greatest challenges facing our world today. It impacts people, economies and the environment. It is clear that policymakers must act swiftly to improve air quality. ITS has a huge role to play in providing solutions. Here, Swarco, as a solution provider, shares inside tips on how to use modern ITS to save lives, economies and the environment.
  • US Department of Transportation updates the ITS Strategic Research Plan, 2010–2014
    October 17, 2012
    The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released Transforming Transportation through Connectivity: ITS Strategic Research Plan, 2010–2014 (Progress Update, 2012). This report is an update to the 2010 ITS Strategic Research Plan, which established a research agenda to prepare the next generation of intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies for widespread deployment throughout the nation. Research and development efforts have advanced notably over the last two and a half years in areas s