France, Germany, Italy and 14 other European countries have signed a joint declaration to coordinate autonomous vehicle testing across borders, marking a major step toward accelerating self-driving technology adoption in Europe.
On Monday, transport ministers from 17 countries endorsed the initiative alongside EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas, aiming to establish a common framework for large-scale cross-border testing.
The move is designed to replace fragmented national pilot schemes with a coordinated European approach, making it easier for companies to test and deploy autonomous vehicles across multiple countries.
Signatories include France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.
One of the biggest challenges for the sector has been Europe’s patchwork of national rules, including differing testing permits, approval systems, and data requirements. These inconsistencies have slowed cross-border deployment of autonomous mobility services.
Under the new framework, participating countries will work toward common approval standards and coordinated permitting procedures while expanding large-scale testing projects across public transport, freight, and logistics sectors.
Officials say the initiative represents a shift toward harmonized regulation intended to accelerate Europe’s competitiveness in autonomous driving technology.
The announcement comes as autonomous vehicle activity accelerates across the continent.
In London, Uber and UK startup Wayve have opened a public waiting list for autonomous taxi rides, with plans to launch a service featuring onboard safety operators in the coming months.
Several other European cities are also preparing pilot programs:
- Zagreb has already launched early robotaxi trials with Uber, Pony.ai and local startup Verne
- Madrid is set for trials involving Uber and Chinese firm WeRide
- Munich will host trials powered by Momenta technology
- Luxembourg is preparing a Stellantis and Pony.ai pilot
- Switzerland is running a pilot with Apollo Go and Swiss Post
- Ride-hailing companies including Uber, Lyft and Bolt are playing a central role in many of these partnerships.
Autonomous driving is already operating at scale in the United States and China, where fleets of driverless taxis have expanded rapidly in major cities.
Waymo operates about 3,000 autonomous taxis in the US, while China’s Apollo Go runs a similar-sized fleet across multiple cities and Dubai. Other players such as Pony.ai and WeRide are also scaling up operations globally.
Industry forecasts suggest rapid global expansion ahead, with consultancy BCG projecting around three million robotaxis worldwide by 2035, including significant deployments in China, the US, and Europe.
Experts say Europe has lagged due to stricter safety regulations and strong public transport networks, but recent policy coordination signals a shift toward faster adoption.
“London is ready, Madrid too,” said autonomous mobility expert Hervé de Tréglodé, adding that commercial services could emerge as early as 2027.
