Marc Rozendal, Chief Executive of EIT Urban Mobility, travelled to Brussels this week alongside Bernadette Bergsma, Director of Communications and EU Affairs, for a series of high-level meetings with senior decision makers at the European Commission.
The visit came as EU leaders convened for an informal summit to reinforce the Union’s competitiveness agenda. In Brussels, Rozendal and Bergsma met with senior officials from key Directorates to general officials working on sustainable, healthy and innovative urban transport.
The purpose of the meetings was clear: to align European urban mobility innovation with the EU’s environmental, industrial and digital priorities, and to agree on practical avenues for cooperation.
Rozendal emphasised that EIT Urban Mobility connects more than 500 startups with over 250 cities, all relevant Horizon Europe countries, enabling European solutions to scale across borders. By acting as an ecosystem partner, the organisation supports European innovators to compete globally and deploy homegrown technologies in cities, helping them tackle their mobility challenges.
Across meetings, the message was consistent: Europe’s mobility transition must be innovation-led, investment-ready and scalable across borders.
From environmental targets to urban implementation
For the Commission, urban mobility is central to achieving reduced air and noise pollution objectives. As exhaust emissions fall, non-exhaust emissions from tyres, brakes and road wear are becoming the dominant source of transport-related particulate pollution in many urban areas. Road traffic noise remains a significant barrier to healthier cities. Discussions, therefore, focused not only on regulation but on implementation capacity and access to tested solutions.
Both sides outlined a number of practical areas for continued cooperation aimed at translating policy ambition into on-the-ground impact. These include supporting the implementation of the Air Quality and Environmental Noise Directives through
- City pilots and the structured exchange of best practice,
- Maintaining collaboration on non-exhaust emissions research, and
- Strengthening capacity building for small and medium-sized cities and enterprises so they can more effectively integrate environmental objectives into mobility planning and procurement.
Autonomous mobility: from testbeds to scalable deployment
A central topic was the development of an EU-wide framework for autonomous vehicle (AV) testing and deployment.
DG MOVE is advancing the concept of an EU-wide AV testbed, supported by Member States, to harmonise operational regulations. DG CONNECT will launch a call for expressions of interest under the Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities (ADAC) initiative to establish city-led deployment consortia. The aim is to help create the conditions for the responsible and scalable deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled mobility services, ensuring that cities are supported in areas such as governance, procurement, skills development and trusted data sharing. EIT Urban Mobility can contribute by identifying leading cities, strengthening business and investment cases, and supporting capacity building.
During the visit, Rozendal also toured a fully autonomous driving operation in Leuven supported by EIT Urban Mobility, demonstrating how coordinated European cooperation can move innovation from concept to real-world application.
As part of the EGUM, EIT Urban Mobility seeks to always create the connection between EU organisations and our community working at all levels in switching to more sustainable home-grown solutions, bolstering EU competitiveness.
The meetings between EIT Urban Mobility and the European Commission concluded with an agreement to deepen collaboration, ensuring that Europe’s environmental ambitions, industrial strategy and digital transition are translated into tangible improvements for cities and citizens alike.
