Connecting policy, innovation, and impact to turn Europe’s mobility ambitions into action.
By working closely with the EU institutions and ecosystem, EIT Urban Mobility ensures the perspectives of cities, innovators, and startups are reflected in policies.
With a strong presence in Brussels, we engage EU institutions, monitor legislation, and advocate for sustainable mobility policies. Through partnerships with other organisations in the EU sector, and strategic guidance from our partners and ecosystem, we help shape funding programmes and regulations that drive urban mobility forward.
EIT Urban Mobility is proud to be a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Urban Mobility (EGUM). This group brings together Member States, cities, research organizations, and industry to support the EU Urban Mobility Framework. We advise the European Commission, exchange best practices, and align policies with the Green Deal, TEN-T regulation, and the EU mission for climate-neutral, smart cities. Our participation ensures that the voice of innovation is heard at the highest policy level.
Our manifesto for competitive and sustainable urban mobility in the EU outlines recommendations:
Through expert groups, consultations, and collaborative initiatives, we turn policy into real-world action. Our community’s voices help shape frameworks like the EU Urban Mobility Framework and initiatives that make cities more liveable, sustainable, and competitive.
EU Funds for Competitiveness and the next MFF
What it is: The EU is preparing its next long-term budget (MFF), the next Programme for Research & Innovation (FP10) and a new Competitiveness Fund (ECF) to focus resources on strategic priorities, simplify rules, and mobilise investment.
Our input: We argue for a more coherent, investment-driven budget that empowers cities as innovation leaders, supports startups and SMEs, and ensures continuity from research to deployment.
EU Agenda for Cities
What it is: The EU is shaping a new Agenda for Cities, setting a common vision for urban policy across climate action, mobility, housing, digitalisation and inclusion.
Our input: We ask for cities to have a structured role in EU policymaking, direct access to funds, simplified reporting, innovation sandboxes, and common impact evaluation so successful pilots can be scaled across Europe.
Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP)
What it is: The plan aims to channel funding into key transport priorities, aligning with Green Deal and TEN-T targets.
Our input: As response to this consultation and in a the joint letter Prioritising Urban and Regional Mobility Investment, we push for stronger focus on urban mobility investments beyond aviation and maritime, highlighting the urgent need for zero-emission buses, logistics hubs, charging infrastructure, and data platforms for smarter cities.
EU Public Procurement Directives
What it is: The EU is revising its procurement rules, which govern how public authorities buy goods and services, to make them more innovation-friendly and SME-accessible.
Our input: We highlight procurement as one of the strongest but most underused levers for startups. We urge simpler procedures, more SME participation, and innovation-driven tenders to support scaling of new mobility solutions.
EU Startup and Scale-Up Strategy
What it is: This EU strategy seeks to make Europe the best place to launch and grow a startup, addressing finance, regulation, and cross-border market access.
Our input: We stress the specific challenges of mobility startups, such as fragmented licensing, diverging national rules, and investor reluctance for capital-intensive projects like fleet technology, logistics platforms and AI-based traffic systems.
European Innovation Act
What it is: The Innovation Act is designed to make EU regulation more supportive of innovation and strengthen financing tools for fast-growing companies.
Our input: We propose innovation stress-tests for new laws, a regulatory “ladder” scaling obligations with company growth, and better IP/data-based financing to help startups expand while reinforcing Europe’s innovation ecosystem.
28th Regime for startups
What it is: A voluntary EU-wide company form under discussion that would allow startups to operate seamlessly across borders with reduced legal and administrative barriers.
Our input: We back the regime as a way to overcome fragmentation, ease cross-border growth, and simplify life for entrepreneurs trying to scale mobility solutions across the Single Market.
EU Data Union Strategy
What it is: The EU is developing a Data Union Strategy to strengthen Europe’s data economy by improving access, governance, and interoperability.
Our input: We recommend lowering barriers for SMEs to use high-quality datasets, positioning cities as trusted intermediaries, creating modular legal contracts, and ensuring long-term funding models so projects move beyond pilots into large-scale deployment.
For many, the EU can seem far away and complex when it comes to mobility policy. That’s why we asked three simple questions to the people behind the decisions—the “voices in Brussels” who work every year to shape and support the future of mobility.
Stay up to date with EIT Urban Mobility’s engagement in Brussels and across Europe.
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