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POLIS

POLIS

POLIS is a network of European cities and regions developing innovative technologies and policies for local transport.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Nikolina Brnjac (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Jan 2026 · EU Policies on Urban Mobility and Transportation, new MMF Support in Terms of Cities and Regions, Sustainable Tourism and Digitalisation

Meeting with Elena Martines (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva)

13 Jan 2026 · Exchange of views on cooperation, partnerships and broader policy frameworks

Meeting with Max Lemke (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

1 Dec 2025 · Exchange of information and views on AI in the mobility sector, connected and autonomous mobility.

Response to Collection of urban mobility data per urban node

19 Nov 2025

As provided in the attached document. This input has been coordinated with EUROCITIES, ICLEI and CEMR.
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POLIS demands cities gain access to new EU Competitiveness Fund

12 Nov 2025
Topic — The European Commission is seeking feedback on EU funding for competitiveness within the post-2027 budget.
Message — POLIS requests that local and regional governments be explicitly recognized as key beneficiaries of the European Competitiveness Fund. They argue urban mobility must remain a strategic priority to meet European climate and digital goals.12
Why — This would provide cities with the financial support necessary to meet heavy technical mandates in upcoming transport legislation.34
Impact — Industrial partnerships could lose their exclusive control over research funding to broader city-led public policy initiatives.56
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POLIS Calls For More Territorial Indicators in EU Budget

12 Nov 2025
Topic — The Commission is consulting on performance and monitoring for the post-2027 EU budget.
Message — POLIS wants granular indicators reflecting territorial realities and local implementation responsibilities. They suggest aligning budget metrics with existing reporting platforms and legislative requirements.12
Why — The framework would recognise local contributions and create incentives for meaningful national engagement.3
Impact — National governments lose the ability to hide regional failures behind aggregate country data.4
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Meeting with Victor Negrescu (Member of the European Parliament) and Transport and Environment (European Federation for Transport and Environment) and

5 Nov 2025 · Union of skills in motion addressing the EU's workforce challenges

POLIS calls for urban node funding in EU budget

29 Oct 2025
Topic — A consultation on the post-2027 EU long-term budget for regions and transport.
Message — POLIS requests that the Commission recognizes local transport dimensions by funding urban nodes. They demand that legal requirements for mobility plans are backed by adequate funding.12
Why — This would allow cities to fund missing links and improve local resilience.3
Impact — Local regions and their citizens lose out as regional disparities continue to widen.4
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Meeting with Eric Von Breska (Director Mobility and Transport)

2 Oct 2025 · The alignment of EU-level funding mechanisms with local and regional transport priorities. The need for greater collaboration in research and innovation, The role of cities in shaping future transport policies

Meeting with Beatriz Yordi (Director Climate Action) and Eurocities and

29 Sept 2025 · ETS2 & Social Climate Fund Implementation, Communication Efforts and Best Practices

POLIS Urges EU to Prioritise Urban Transport Funding

4 Sept 2025
Topic — A strategic framework to boost investments in renewable and low-carbon transport fuels.
Message — POLIS calls for the STIP to broaden its focus beyond aviation and maritime fuels to include urban nodes and public transport. They request the integration of urban mobility investments into future EU budgetary frameworks.12
Why — This provides cities with necessary EU funding to meet mandatory transport decarbonisation targets.3
Impact — Aviation and waterborne sectors face reduced funding if resources are diverted to urban mobility projects.4
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Meeting with Beatriz Yordi (Director Climate Action) and Eurocities and

30 Jun 2025 · ETS2 / SCF / Public consultation

Meeting with Sergio Oliete Josa (Head of Unit Directorate-General for International Partnerships)

13 Jun 2025 · Exploration of potential avenues of collaboration on common topics of interest

European Cities Network Urges Tailored Support in AI Strategy

4 Jun 2025
Topic — The European Commission is consulting on a strategy to accelerate AI adoption in public sectors.
Message — POLIS requests clear, practical guidance on AI Act compliance and dedicated funding through the Digital Europe Programme. They argue for a nuanced, sector-specific risk classification for mobility applications rather than a uniform approach.123
Why — Targeted assistance and financial support would reduce the regulatory uncertainty and high costs of digital transformation.45
Impact — Large non-EU technology providers may lose market share to local open-source and European cloud solutions.67
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Response to Policy agenda for cities

26 May 2025

POLIS has developed a short position document to inform the DG REGIO about the needs and expectations of cities and regions for the upcoming EU policy agenda on cities concerning urban mobility. This document complements position documents of the Local Alliance with regards to the the future role of cities and regions in EU (financial) governance (position documents on the MFF, competitiveness and Multi-Level Governance).
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Meeting with Elisabeth Kotthaus (Head of Unit Mobility and Transport)

5 May 2025 · The meeting was held in preparation of POLIS’ online workshop with Member States on ‘Social Climate Plans: designing Transport measures’ on 8 May 2025.

Meeting with Wopke Hoekstra (Commissioner) and

12 Feb 2025 · Dialogue on the future of the automotive sector - Thematic Working Group on 'Clean Transition and Decarbonisation'

Meeting with Arash Saeidi (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Dec 2024 · Échange de point de vue

Meeting with Marko Vešligaj (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Oct 2024 · Mobility policies

Response to Working Programme of the ITS Directive for the period 2024-2028

26 Aug 2024

POLIS is the network of European cities and regions dedicated to advancing sustainable mobility and transport innovation. By fostering cooperation and partnerships across Europe, POLIS makes transport research and innovation more accessible to cities and regions, equipping them with the tools and information needed to implement effective sustainable mobility policies. We commend the European Commission's efforts to harmonize ITS services across Europe, acknowledging the significant progress made toward creating a cohesive and efficient transport system. About Point 3.2.4: Enhanced Traffic and Incident Management, we appreciate the initiatives focus on standardizing information related to cycling, including volumes, patterns, parking, and infrastructure. However, to better address the diverse needs of modern urban mobility, we recommend broadening the scope to include all micromobility options, such as bicycles and e-scooters. Micromobility solutions have become vital to urban transportation networks, encompassing private bikes, bike-sharing systems, and e-scooter-sharing schemes. Each type has distinct requirements concerning service organization, fare/ticketing systems, and infrastructure. By addressing these varied use cases, traffic management strategies can be more comprehensive and responsive to urban transport realities. In addition to optimizing road capacity, enhanced traffic and incident management should focus on supporting a shift towards more sustainable modes of transport. This aligns with the Green Deals objectives and addresses the need for solutions that reduce congestion, lower emissions, and improve urban areas' overall quality of life. Future studies should take into account these recommendations, with a particular emphasis on urban use cases, to ensure that traffic management strategies are not only effective but also adaptable to the evolving needs of urban mobility. Concerning Point 3.2.7: Amendment of Annex III to Directive 2010/40/EU, we acknowledge the significance of the new responsibilities for cities and regions and will closely observe this initiative. While these requirements are consistent across the EU, there is a notable disparity in digitalization levels and implementation readiness among cities and member states. This variability poses significant challenges, as cities with lower levels of digital infrastructure may struggle to meet these obligations effectively. In this context, we support the City of Amsterdam's proposal for a specialized support program to promote the exchange of best practices and end-user solutions throughout the EU. This program would offer crucial support to cities and regions, aiding them in fulfilling these new mandates and enhancing their transportation systems.
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Meeting with Maroš Šefčovič (Executive Vice-President) and

15 Mar 2024 · Clean Transition Dialogue for Cities

Meeting with Ciarán Cuffe (Member of the European Parliament)

22 Feb 2024 · Event on state of transport in the EU

Response to European Disability Card

13 Nov 2023

POLIS welcomes the highly expected and much needed proposal for a directive for the European Disability Card for persons with disabilities. POLIS - network of 120 local and regional authorities for innovation in mobility, focuses on these aspects in the proposal. Most POLIS members have a competence in parking, making this aspect an important issue of concern. POLIS agrees with the overall approach of the directive, or recognition in the country of residence, and equal access to the mobility services and parking conditions and facilities reserved for people with disabilities. We see room for improvement for the following aspects: - We appreciate the very open approach that the directive takes to formulating a digital framework for the implementation of the directive. The mandate is given to the EC. We think the directive should provide conditions for the mandate, specifically about the involvement of public and private stakeholders in local parking services and enforcement. A timeline for the digital application should be set, given the speed in which digital parking services and enforcement are deployed across Europe. References to the relation between the card and licence plate numbers should be included. - For a full compliance check, the enforcement authorities would need to be able to access original information, not only the information that is carried by the card or its digital representation. We want to highlight that the level of exchange of data with regards to parking does not exist and is currently even actively stopped by European Institutions (e.g. the ongoing discussions in view of the Cross Boarder Enforcement Directive). - Local authorities should have the ability to alert Member States directly about structural misuse, and abuse. The real impact is at the local level, not at the MS level. - The transition period between the current and new cards should be better described. - The validity of the card should be limited to realistic terms. - The designated competent authorities status would need to be clarified. Local authorities are in many cases issuing parking cards, but act on behalf (or following the rules of) higher level authorities. It is not clear what the consequences are of being designated as competent authorities.
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Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

4 Oct 2023 · Introductory meeting

Meeting with Karima Delli (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Transport Safety Council and European Cyclists' Federation

27 Apr 2023 · Driving Licence Directive

Response to Creation of the Common European Mobility Data Space

7 Dec 2022

POLIS welcomes the ECs proposal to create a European Mobility Data space. POLIS has been working in the mobility data domain for many years, supporting its members by facilitating the sharing of experiences about opening up data and more generally strengthening the mobility data culture in local government. POLIS has also facilitated a dialogue between its members and the European Commission on EU data-related legislation in the transport space, namely the ITS Directive. POLIS would like to highlight the following points: 1. Improved data quality and sharing can lead to benefits, but this is not a given. The call for evidence is demonstrating optimism bias in relation to the expected impacts of data sharing. It is important that the impact assessment provides concrete evidence of the benefits and does not exclude the potential disbenefits of the digital transition. For instance, the substantial environmental footprint of digitalisation, data sharing and data centres are not referenced (https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/37439/FB027.pdf). The benefits are also largely framed around the efficiency of the system, omitting a mention to the social benefits that data-based policy making can achieve. Adopting a holistic approach in the impact assessment will give it greater credibility. 2. Data collection/sharing is not an end in itself; rather the new services or insights that are enabled by data sharing are the goal. Any data activity should be purpose-driven, otherwise huge amounts of effort and money will be invested with little return. It would be helpful to give greater attention to the notions of purposeful data sharing and outcomes in future EC communication about the MDS. 3. The financial dimension of data collection, management and sharing is overlooked. This cost dimension must be considered in the impact assessment. There is a huge amount of data available which is growing exponentially by the day. Public authorities are mostly providing free of charge access to their own mobility data through their open data activities. Where data is not open, this is generally due to financial, legal (eg, contractual conditions, GDPR) or technical challenges. In addition to support deploying the data space, public authorities need to have programs supporting the creation of (crucial) data that is not yet available (in a machine-readable way). 4. Cost is an important consideration in B2G data sharing. Public authorities acknowledge that the private sector has more and better-quality data in some instances and would therefore prefer to acquire this data rather than collect the data themselves. However, the high cost of B2G data acquisition is dissuasive and is therefore an important barrier in the shift towards data as a service in the public sector. There is currently a big imbalance in data sharing between government and business due to the former mostly providing free of charge data and the latter charging market rates for data. The RTTI delegated regulation acknowledges this imbalance and is proposing FRAND conditions in certain instances for B2G data selling. 5. The link with existing sectoral legislation is missing, namely the ITS Directive and its suite of delegated regulations and specifically the National Access Points that the delegated regulations require each Member State to create to improve the findability of mobility data. The text should include an explicit connection between existing sectoral legislation and the mobility data space. 6. In general, POLIS recommends the EC and the member states to conceive the European Mobility Data Space as an endeavour that goes beyond the technical establishment of a 'facility', but includes the capacity building of contributing stakeholders, and support for creating added value from the data space.
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Response to Revision of the specifications for EU-wide real-time traffic information services (Delegated Regulation 2015/962)

9 Nov 2021

POLIS is the network of European cities and regions working together to promote sustainable mobility and transport innovation. POLIS fosters cooperation and partnerships across Europe to make transport research and innovation more accessible to cities and regions. POLIS members are provided with the requisite information and tools for making sustainable mobility policies a reality. The revision of the RTTI delegated regulation is particularly relevant to POLIS members (i.e. European city and regional authorities) as it creates many new obligations and opportunities due to the proposed extension of the geographical scope to all roads, particularly urban roads, the inclusion of new data sets, including UVARs and in-vehicle data, and the definition of crucial data. While these provisions may support the further development of EU-wide traffic information services, they raise a number of concerns that need to be addressed and are presented in the attached opinion.
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Response to Multimodal Digital Mobility Services

2 Nov 2021

UITP, POLIS & EMTA welcome the publication of the roadmap on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS). In anticipation of such an initiative, our three organisations published a joint opinion on EU-wide integrated ticketing (the former name of MDMS). The joint paper proposes principles supported by recommendations regarding the role and the responsibility of the public transport sector in a multimodal digital mobility context. The paper (available here: https://www.uitp.org/publications/uitp-polis-emta-joint-opinion-on-eu-wide-integrated-ticketing/) is relevant to the current roadmap and is therefore referenced in this opinion. Indeed, our joint opinion sets out the vision for a functioning market setting for digital mobility solutions that will (i) support, rather than undermine the key role of public transport as the backbone of urban mobility – and (ii) ensure the rights of all citizens to affordable and accessible transport services are not diluted. Following up on our joint opinion, find the joint feedback for the roadmap attached.
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Response to New EU urban mobility framework

25 May 2021

Polis welcomes the approach taken by the DG MOVE in this roadmap to prepare for ‘a new urban mobility framework’. The consultation process, and the definition of the new EU UM framework, should build on two axes: urban mobility as part of an integrated urban system (with other sectors such as energy, housing, education, health, urban greening (structured in the Cities’ mission), but also as an integral part of a European mobility system (built around the TEN-T, and community law with regards to internal market, vehicles, alternative fuels, ITS etc.). Both dimensions should be balanced. Polis emphasises that scale and speed of the transition are beyond compare and require full commitment of all stakeholders involved, EU Institutions included. We invite the DG MOVE to take the following issues into account when preparing the framework: The previous UM Action Plan was a well-defined list of studies. The new framework holds the promise to go beyond this level of addressing UM – including both legislative, financial and ‘soft policy’ approaches. Polis recommends avoiding a ‘slice and dice’ approach in the new framework, where different issues are addressed in silos, whilst losing track of the bigger picture. This bigger picture is implicitly and explicitly present in the Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy, which provides a solid foundation for the UM framework. The Strategy describes an overall vision for local mobility systems and access to urban areas. The consultation process for the framework should provide the opportunity to discuss the actual deployment and implementation of that vision: how can better/more funding, coordinated R&I, awareness raising, capacity building, procurement, etc. support efficient, inclusive and climate neutral local mobility systems? This new focus on deployment will require the involvement of new stakeholders. The broadening of the spectrum of stakeholders should be actively pursued in the consultation process. Only a part of this ‘bigger picture’ will be captured by EU legislation. The Strategy contains several legislative actions that have urban relevance. The assessment of which ‘pieces of EU legislation’ will contain ‘some urban mobility elements’ (citation from roadmap document) should be made in dialogue with cities, regions, and transport authorities. These legislative actions should become an integral part of the UM framework. Territorial impact assessment should also be part of the preparation of the framework and should be mainstreamed in its actions. The list of UM aspects highlighted in the document is comprehensive and close to complete. Below, additional elements prioritised by POLIS and its members are listed: •Substantive progress in road safety is indispensable for substantive progress in sustainable urban mobility. This aspect should be better developed and prioritised. Mobility must be safe, or will not be sustainable. •We would like to emphasise that the Strategy does not sufficiently recognise the importance of public transport as backbone of urban mobility systems that are safe, environmentally friendly, accessible, and affordable. This should be amended in the UM framework, and sufficiently addressed in the process towards its establishment. •Urban mobility policies are expected to contribute substantially to the revival of local economies after COVID-19. The overhaul of local economies (through e-commerce, teleworking, decentralised production etc.) strongly relates to UM, and stakeholders concerned by these issues should be involved in the consultation about the UM. •The UM framework should be well phased: with the RFF, the COVID-19 exit and recovery being the focus for the first years of the decade, the emergence of new technologies might shape the second half of the decade. This brings the question to the table which UM framework actions depend on each other. This requires a timeline for the framework. This as well should be part of the consultation process.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

30 Mar 2021 · Keynote speech on clean mobility

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

1 Mar 2021 · Urban mobility and the European Green Deal

Response to Revision of the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive

19 Nov 2020

The feedback is provided in the attached document.
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Meeting with Walter Goetz (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

11 Jun 2020 · Sustainable urban mobility

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and European Metropolitan Transport Authorities

31 Mar 2020 · Clean Public Transport

Response to Climate Law

5 Feb 2020

POLIS is the leading network of European cities and regions committed to transport innovation, specifically to the innovations that our urban mobility systems need to become more sustainable, safe and equitable. Our 80-plus members are actively contributing towards climate-friendly changes throughout Europe, and have accumulated significant practical experience by shaping and implementing policies, programs and projects on the local, regional and European levels. We are willing and ready to advise, propose and act. We acknowledge the importance and the urgency of tackling the climate crisis, we strongly believe in the potential of European collective action, and specifically in the role that a European Climate Law could play, and we are committed to actively contributing to the change needed by our cities and regions, and by our current and future citizens. For that purpose, we believe it is important, at this stage, to consider the following: 1. Changing urban mobility of people and goods is key to addressing climate change, namely because: (1.1) transport is a major source of CO2 emissions; (1.2) reducing the volumes of motorized individual transport will enable conversion of immense areas of asphalt to other, more environmentally friendly, uses: (1.3) acting in urban areas is the quickest and most effective way to influence the highest volume of trips. 2. European cities and regions: (2.1) play a key role in the planning and management of urban mobility, with SUMPs as a strategic planning tool and a truly European concept; (2.2) are committed to leading the necessary changes in this domain; (2.3) are better positioned to understand and deal with the economic and social implications these changes will inevitably have; (2.4) have a longstanding experience in using regulating and cost-internalization strategies to curb adverse impacts of mobility (UVAR, parking management, local taxes and charges), an experience that can be used to tackle climate change. 3. European-level cooperation between cities and regions, especially through networks, programs and projects, has enabled the emergence of Local Government as a specific layer of European governance, and that is an important asset that must be acknowledged and used to face the climate challenge. Subsidiarity has been for long a cornerstone of European governance, and will remain so, but we must make sure it does not become an obstacle to the quick progress that Europe needs to achieve in urban areas, and that regions and cities can deliver. 4. European regulatory action and financial investment in urban mobility should be shaped to: (4.1) support the most efficient, equitable, safe and sustainable ways of moving people and goods, not vehicles; (4.2) accelerate modal shift in urban areas, away from private cars with combustion engines, and towards, in this order of priority, active modes (walking and cycling), public transport (trains, trams and buses) and shared mobility services (moved by other means than combustion engines); (4.3) actively facilitate the deployment and trans-border operation of new solutions; (4.4) acknowledge and build on the fact that we are facing a climate emergency and need to step up collective efforts towards effective action in the coming decade.
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Response to European Partnership for Safe and Automated Road Transport

27 Aug 2019

Polis welcomes the efforts to establish a Partnership for safe and automated road transport. Representing local and regional authorities competent for mobility planning and management, as well as road operations, we would like to emphasise the importance to engage the local level the process of establishment, and in the actual Partnership, whatever form or function this might have. Local and regional authorities should be engaged taking into account their different roles: planners, road operator, procurer, regulator, enforcer, etc. The partnership should includes the full spectrum of CCAM related expertise-areas: mobility planning, societal impacts, regulatory issues. This should also be reflected in the process of the establishment of the partnership. The partnership and its institutional representation should be as connected to and embedded in existing EU initiatives as possible (CIVITAS, EIT, EIP-SCC,...). A more open, transparent, and accessible environment than the current JU ecosystem should be envisaged, specifically reaching out to local and regional authorities. The involvement of all public government levels (including local and regional authorities) in the partnerships governance should be.
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Response to Cross-border enforcement of road traffic rules

12 Apr 2019

Polis, the network of cities and regions for transport innovation, welcomes the revision of the Cross-Border Enforcement Directive. We are convinced that fair and efficient enforcement of traffic penalties is crucial to save lifes and to create opportunity for a more sustainable modal choice and use of vehicles. We regret that the consultation document intentionally states that ‘this initiative will primarily focus on improving effectiveness and efficiency of the Directive under the current scope’. This approach contradicts and hampers the purpose of the revision, namely an efficient and effective enforcement of foreign vehicles. The a-priori exclusion of the extension of the scope cannot be explained by the expected positive social, environmental, fundamental rights, economic and administrative impacts. They all would be maintained, or even have higher impacts if the scope of application would be enlarged. e.g. The high number of bilateral agreements mentioned (378) needed to reach the same effect as a EU initiative, will not diminish if the scope of the directive is not expanded. On the contrary : once the perspective on an expanded scope would be postponed substantially or abandonded entirely by this revision, member states and local authorities are likely to initiate further bilateral agreements, creating more administrative burden and procedural fragmentation. The traffic offenses will not dissappear because they are kept out of the CBE directive’s scope. The document rightly qualifies dangerous parking as a road-safety-related traffic offence. Polis (and its members represented in a dedicated parking working group) would like to highlight the importance of cross-border enforcement in this regard. Dangerous parking does not only affect motorised traffic : cyclists and pedestrians can be put in harm as well. The definition of dangerous parking is different accross the member states, but within a limited band width – a common understanding of what dangerous parking entails, can be found. The financial cost and administrative burden of enforcement towards foreign vehicles - without cross-border enforcement scheme in place - is high for the driver and for the authority: clamping, towing, immediate payment, vehicle confinement… are methods that are burdensome for both parties. Although CBE will not make all of these methods unnecessary, they will be simplified and cost will be reduced. Finally, the CBE directive currently does not include non-road-safety related traffic offenses such as toll or LEZ evasion. We would like to highlight the need to further allign the CBE with the EETS directive (revision under conclusion), where a window of upportunity has been created to assess whether (administrative) fines related to non-compliance to access regulations can be included within the electronic tolling context. In practice, the administrative procedures as well as the digital infrastructure/back-offices to manage this process and CBE will be similar or even the same, with a central role for EUCARIS. This convergence should also be translated in the revised CBE Directive.
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Response to Evaluation of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive

20 Mar 2019

Electromobility is increasingly becoming part of the sustainable urban mobility system. Polis cities have a clear vision when it comes to reducing the adverse impacts of transport, with ambitious goals to improve air quality, make the urban environment less congested, bring about modal shift in favour of public transport and active travel, and improve the overall quality of life. Under the AFI Directive, Member States received a key role in coordinating the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure through their respective National Policy Frameworks. Polis has been a strong advocate for the need that subsequent targets that would emerge, as well as minimum requirements for the availability of such infrastructure, which should be established in close cooperation with local and regional transport authorities. Please find our full response in the document attached.
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Response to Standard forms for procurement notices

8 Mar 2019

Polis welcomes the initiative to evaluate the standard forms for procurement notices and opportunity to respond. As the leading European network of local and regional authorities working for sustainable mobility solutions, we have followed closely the review of the rules for the public procurement of clean vehicles (Directive 2009/33/EC). Since reporting will be a key instrument in the monitoring and evaluation of this legislation, optimisation of the process and coherence with existing procurement reporting procedures is needed to avoid repetition and administrative burden. In order for TED to be used as the main instrument for reporting under the Clean Vehicles Directive (thus avoiding the need for separate reporting), specific fields will have to be included and adapted to the needs of the CVD, in the forms for reporting. We recommend close collaboration with the DG responsible (MOVE) for an effective and suitable adaptation of the forms to avoid burdensome additional reporting mechanisms.
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Response to Evaluation of the 2011 White Paper on Transport

7 Mar 2019

Polis welcomes the initiative to evaluate the Transport White Paper and thanks the Commission for the development of the actions laid down over the last eight years, as significant progress was made by recognising the importance of local and regional mobility. This was reflected in the Urban Mobility Package presented in 2013 as well as the EC communication on Low-emission Mobility of July 2016, the strategy toward Smart Cities, the promotion of clean, safer vehicles, alternative fuels and infrastructures in the three mobility packages. However, the 2015 Diesel fraud and uncertainty in the real driving emissions of vehicles have brought about major concerns about air quality in cities as well as drastic calls from the society to reduce pollution levels and car use in urban areas. As such urban mobility has become a topic of ever-increasing importance: - Negative externalities related to urban mobility and traffic remain substantial or are increasing: Air Quality, energy use and C02 emissions remain high, safety, congestion, health etc. - This is a sector going through a paradigm shift (of coinciding transitions: decarbonisation, digitalisation, service-orientation) where cities are in the driving seat for making disruptive innovations align with policy goals. - With increased densification of urban areas, urban public transport is under pressure to deliver quality, remain affordable for the end user and the competent authority, reduce its energy and environmental footprint and innovate. - Accessibility of cities and metropolitan regions becomes a key factor in local economic development and in international accessibility, and overall attractiveness of the EU as place to live, work, invest. - Cites are a battleground for global competition in view of innovation with new mobility services, new integrative approaches such as MaaS or automated vehicles. Polis believes the urban nodes priority needs to be strengthened to clarify the goals and achievements expected from CEF investments. Polis continues to encourage a European framework which supports cities in developing, implementing and evaluating SUMPs, proposing a voluntary approach encouraged by significant European incentives, including incentives related to the allocation of European funds. As such: - The revision of the SUMP guidelines and subsequent updating to current challenges should be aligned with the ongoing evaluation of the White Paper. -The EU cycling strategy from 2015 as well as following cycling infrastructure guidelines should motivate national investments for local and regional cycling infrastructure. Additionally, evaluation and consultation should address: - A roadmap to deliver against the key policy targets of the Transport White Paper such as the CO2-neutral logistics by 2030 and road safety deaths/seriously injured. -Investment/spending by EU institutional actors (DGs, EIB/EBRD, Executive Agencies in urban mobility. -Clarify and align objectives of ITS and PSI Directives within the White Paper. -The conclusions of the European Parliament’s EMIS report. -Expectations of stakeholders towards EU investment/innovation instruments looking ahead to the next decades. Finally, new urban systems and services are gradually emerging, such as urban data management platforms and multimodal travelling, making the question of governance and economics of the systems imperative. Authorities are acquiring new skills in order to assume their role as mediators and interfaces between the different urban stakeholders, as designers of platforms for the acquisition and storage of urban data, as managers of the community and public space, for the public interest. The ecological emergency will require creativity, collaboration and know-how to find the appropriate innovations suited for local situations and policy goals.
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Meeting with Silke Obst (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

21 Mar 2018 · Urban and regional transport

Meeting with Maroš Šefčovič (Vice-President) and

24 Jun 2016 · Low-emission mobility

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President) and

19 Nov 2015 · Smart Cities

Meeting with Violeta Bulc (Commissioner) and

16 Jun 2015 · Meeting Polis representatives from all over Europe

Meeting with Friedrich-Nikolaus von Peter (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

31 Mar 2015 · Meeting Polis representatives