A major step for the EU autonomous vehicles industry was taken on 8th June 2026 in Luxembourg, where 18 Member States joined Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, in signing a Joint Declaration of Intent for large-scale cross-border autonomous vehicle testbeds. The agreement, reached on the sidelines of the Transport Council meeting, represents a significant development under the European Automotive Action Plan and highlights a collective commitment to advancing the harmonised deployment of autonomous vehicles throughout Europe. Through the establishment of autonomous vehicle testbeds, participating countries aim to promote a safe, coordinated and competitive environment that supports the growth of Europe’s automotive industry and emerging mobility technologies.
The initiative is designed to facilitate cross-border autonomous vehicle operations in sectors including public transport, freight and logistics. To achieve this objective, Member States will strengthen collaboration on interoperability, regulatory frameworks and practical implementation measures. Participating countries have agreed to work on common principles for approvals and coordinated permitting procedures while simultaneously carrying out deployment activities across Europe.
These autonomous vehicle testbeds will be structured around specific operational requirements and use cases, creating opportunities for extensive testing and paving the way for future commercial deployment across national borders. The programme is also intended to increase regulatory certainty for innovators and investors while enhancing the overall competitiveness of Europe’s autonomous vehicle ecosystem.
The Joint Declaration was signed by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.
The initiative for cross-border autonomous vehicle testbeds was originally launched under the European Automotive Action Plan to support the harmonised commercial pre-deployment of autonomous vehicles across Europe. The framework brings together Member States, regional and local authorities, industry stakeholders and transport operators.
To support implementation, the initiative includes two parallel workstreams. One focuses on creating common principles and coordinated approaches for permitting and approval procedures, while the second is dedicated to practical deployment activities and the clustering of use cases, particularly in public transport, freight and logistics.
As an initial measure backing the programme, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2026 work programme foresees EUR 20 million for digital infrastructure dedicated to autonomous driving under the reflow call to be launched in June 2026.
