Our journey towards the future of smart mobility - Main contents

This week I attended the informal meeting of EU environment and transport ministers in Amsterdam. We discussed the future of smart and green mobility, and pledged to intensify EU cooperation in this area to facilitate the introduction of self-driving vehicles on the European roads.

Self-driving vehicles are developing at a rapid pace and such technological advancements can help us reach our destination faster and safer. They will also help us reduce emissions and protect the environment. Smart mobility will also help the economy by creating more jobs and strengthen the EU's competitiveness. However, many different national and international regulations are slowing down the development. There are concerns about data, cybersecurity, liability and infrastructure. Cars do not stop at borders, and a common European approach is essential if we want to overcome these differences and create an environment in which automated smart vehicles can operate.

What are we doing to facilitate the smooth introduction of these technologies on European roads? This week we have adopted the Declaration of Amsterdam, in which 28 European transport ministers committed to support and facilitate all forms of self-driving vehicles. Traffic and transport rules in EU countries will be harmonised, and we will coordinate the work on a common digital communication system, so that cars in Europe can “talk” to one another - and to infrastructure - properly. Also, EU countries will cooperate on cross-border testing, to ensure that the systems in vehicles do not need to be updated at every border. In cooperation with the European automotive industry, the aim is to be ready for self-driving cars in three years.

I had a chance to participate in the live presentation of self-driving cars, produced by several European manufacturers. We were driven in smart, autonomous vehicles, which constantly monitor the environment around them and are able to react to different unexpected situations on the road. Being driven in a self-driving car along the streets of Amsterdam without my hands on the wheel was an incredible experience. This may seem like a futuristic idea to some, but such technology will soon become a common sight on our roads. We spend a lot of time driving, and I look forward to the day when we will be able to use this time more productively instead, and leave the handling of the vehicle to the safe, automated system.

Besides personal transportation, smart mobility will have a positive effect on the cargo transport as well. In light of the informal council meeting, the European Truck Platooning Challenge finished this week. In the challenge, six convoys of connected smart trucks drove to Rotterdam from different points across Europe. Smart trucks automatically drove close behind one another to utilize the road better and save time, fuel and emissions. It was the first time that we’ve managed to engage in transnational, cross-border running of truck platoons. The challenge shows that it is a practical and feasible solution, and that we can actually run these truck platoons along European highways.

Connected and automated vehicles will make transport safer, more efficient and inclusive, and also offer great opportunities for the EU industry. The Commission will continue to work closely with the industry and Member States to create the conditions for connected vehicles to hit European roads already in 2019. Building on the momentum of the Amsterdam Declaration, we are working hard to release a master plan on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems later this year. It will lay down the steps necessary for the development of self-driving technology in the EU.

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Prihodnost pametne mobilnosti

Ta teden sem se v Amsterdamu udeležila neformalnega srečanja ministrov EU za okolje in promet. Skupaj z 28 ministri držav članic smo razpravljali o prihodnosti pametne in zelene mobilnosti. Zavezali smo se k tesnejšemu sodelovanju med državami članicami, da bomo na evropskih cestah zagotovili dobre pogoje za uvedbo avtomatiziranih vozil.

Tehnologija avtomatiziranih vozil se hitro razvija in nam omogoča, da hitreje in varneje dosežemo svoj cilj, hkrati pa z optimalno vožnjo zmanjšamo izpuste in pripomoremo k čistejšemu okolju. Razvoj na tem področju z ustvarjanjem novih delovnih mest tudi koristi gospodarstvu in povečuje konkurenčnost Evrope. Toda mnogi državni in mednarodni predpisi pogosto upočasnjujejo razvoj. Moramo biti pozorni na varen prenos in uporabo podatkov, kibernetsko varnost, pravno odgovornost in razvoj primerne infrastrukture. Vsaka država sama določa prometne predpise, toda avtomobili se ne ustavljajo na mejah. Zato je skupen evropski pristop izredno pomemben, če želimo ustvariti pogoje, v katerih bodo avtomatizirana vozila lahko nemoteno delovala.

Kaj počnemo za vpeljavo pametnih tehnologij na evropske ceste? Ta teden smo na Nizozemskem podpisali izjemno pomemben Amsterdamski sporazum, v katerem se 28 evropskih prometnih ministrov zavezuje k vzpodbujanju razvoja vseh vrst avtomatiziranih vozil. Z državami bomo uskladili cestnoprometne predpise in vzpostavili skupen digitalni komunikacijski sistem, s pomočjo katerega se bodo pametna vozila lahko sporazumevala tako med seboj, kot tudi s pametno prometno infrastrukturo. Prav tako bodo evropske države sodelovale pri čezmejnih testiranjih tehnologije, tako da lahko v vozila vgradimo sisteme, ki bodo delovali v vseh državah in opreme ne bo potrebno posodabljati na vsaki meji. V sodelovanju z evropsko avtomobilsko industrijo smo si zadali cilj, da bomo v treh letih pripravljeni na vpeljavo avtomatiziranih vozil.

Na Nizozemskem sem sodelovala tudi na predstavitvi avtomatiziranih vozil različnih evropskih proizvajalcev. Avtomobili med vožnjo nenehno spremljajo okolico in so sposobni sami reagirati na različne nepričakovane situacije v prometu. Vožnja po ulicah Amsterdama v pametnem vozilu brez rok na volanu je nepozabna izkušnja! Morda se danes takšne ideje zdijo kot znanstvena fantastika, toda podobna tehnologija bo že v nekaj letih prisotna na naših cestah. Veliko časa preživim v avtomobilu in zelo se veselim, da bom kmalu lahko ta čas porabila za branje ali pa sproščen pogovor s sopotniki, med tem ko bo za upravljanje vozila srbel varen, avtomatski sistem.

Poleg osebnega prevoza pa bo imela pametna mobilnost pozitiven vpliv tudi na tovorni promet. V sklopu neformalnega srečanja ministrov v Amsterdamu je potekal tudi European Truck Platooning Challenge. V izzivu je 6 konvojev avtomatiziranih pametnih tovornjakov iz različnih delov Evrope pripeljalo v Rotterdam. Pametni tovornjaki avtomatsko sledijo eden drugemu, tako da bolje izkoristijo prostor na cesti, prihranijo čas in gorivo ter zmanjšajo izpuste. S tem nam je prvič uspelo izpeljati meddržaven avtomatski prevoz v konvoju. Projekt dokazuje, da je to praktična in uresničljiva rešitev, ter da lahko pametne konvoje tovornjakov pričakujemo na evropskih avtocestah.

Pametna in avtomatizirana vozila bodo spremila promet. Močno se bo zmanjšalo število nesreč, optimalnejša vožnja zelo zmanjšuje izpuste strupenih plinov, z njimi pa bomo lahko v neko normalno, mobilno življenje aktivirali tudi tiste, ki so bili doslej iz tega izključeni, na primer starejše in invalide. Komisija bo še naprej tesno sodelovala z državami članicami, da ustvarimo pogoje za vpeljavo avtomatiziranih vozil na naše ceste že do leta 2019. Po uspešni vpeljavi Amsterdamskega sporazuma bomo do konca leta pripravili načrt za vpeljavo skupnih pametnih prometnih sistemov, ki bo predvidel vse potrebne korake za vpeljavo avtonomnih tehnologi v evropskem prometu.