Seite - (000172) - in Autonomes Fahren - Technische, rechtliche und gesellschaftliche Aspekte

Autonomous Driving – Political, Legal, Social, and Sustainability Dimensions160 8.3.3 Actors and arenas for autonomous driving in the EU At the European level, different Directorates General (DG) are involved with questions addressing autonomous driving, with DG Connect being somewhat more engaged than for example, DG Mobility and Transport (MOVE) or DG for Enterprise and Industry (ENTR). In general, the EU Commission’s interests in the transport area are more related to strengthening competitiveness throughout the whole Union including in remote areas (by e. g. supporting basic infrastructure development) and combatting climate change (i. e. e-mobility, urban development that supports public transport, bicycles, etc.) and not so much on implementing a vision of widespread use of autonomous driving vehicles. DG Connect supports research in the field of automated mobility. It mainly addresses the research on intelligent transport systems (ITS) and highlights the role of ICT for ITS and mobility for it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increases energy efficiency in the transport sector, and enhances safety and mobility for people and goods in general. ICT is, however, mostly connected to the provision of real-time traffic information and not explicitly to autonomous road vehicles. Information on autonomous driving is generally best assessed from DG Connect. While various aspects and projects are listed on their website, DG Connect forwards the reader to the iMobility Forum when looking for ‘Automated Driving’. iMobility is one of the two main platforms on the European level that addresses vehicle automation. Via the iMobility Forum, the Commission is in contact with stakeholders. The platform is chaired by DG Connect and co-chaired by ERTICO-ITS Europe as well as the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and the European Association with tolled motorways, bridges and tunnels (ASECAP). Within iMobility, there is a working group on vehicle road automation. DG Connect partly finances this network. The iMobility Forum is linked to the ERTICO platform on intelligent transport systems in Europe. It was founded as a joint initiative by the European Commission, national transport ministries as well as industry representatives and aims to be a networking platform to spur exchange between actors and stakeholders related to all kinds of aspects of intelligent transport systems. It gives an overview of various research projects and activities in European Member States on ITS – and accordingly, automated vehicles [16]. In addition, the European Union provides a platform for debating visions of the future: FUTURIUM, part of the Digital Agenda of Europe. Several articles about autonomous driving can be found here. To summarize, autonomous driving is not strategically anchored in European poli- cy-making. The overarching discourses and objectives in the European transport sector can be subsumed under the headlines “competitiveness”, “sustainability”, “efficiency”, “low-carbon” and, to a lesser degree, “safety”. While autonomous driving can arguably contribute to any of these overarching objectives, stakeholders have not yet made much effort to make these links. The actors most actively addressing autonomous driving at the EU level deal with communication technologies, smart mobility, and intelligent transport systems (DG Connect including links to the EU’s vision for the Digital Europe). The auto-