Spain and France step up collaboration in development of automated and connected driving

The MoU was signed by the Minister for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, José Luis Ábalos, the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande Marlaska, the State Secretary for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, Roberto Sánchez, and by the French Minister for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.

After the signing ceremony, José Luis Ábalos underlined that automated and connected driving is a tool that improves mobility, safety and accessibility.

According to the minister, this Memorandum of Understanding is a leap forward in Spain and France joining efforts to achieve greater interoperability of systems and regulations in such important fields as:

• The development in uses in the field of shared mobility, goods transport and logistics.
• The adaptation of regulations and infrastructures to new forms of connected mobility.
• The introduction of cooperative communications systems and 5G connectivity in transport.

The minister argued that the efforts by this department to driverless vehicles are designed to place people at the centre of this development, oversee the accessibility of technology, respect ethical questions and guarantee a just transition from current forms of mobility.

In this regard, José Luis Ábalos stated that the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda is working on the future Mobility Act where automated and connected mobility will have its own space.

The minister also recalled that the two levers that guide the department's actions are the Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy and the Spanish Urban Agenda.

Ministry of Home Affairs

The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande Marlaska, stressed that for his department, the signing of the MoU will allow cooperation between the different research projects currently under way and will facilitate the performance of cross-border testing of autonomous driving which will be highly useful for the development of projects because it will allow a shared vision to be shaped for the future of automated and connected vehicles that will contribute to drawing up a European and international framework.

The minister claimed that the Directorate-General of Traffic of the Ministry of Home Affairs already has a regulatory framework that covers tests and research trials with automated driving vehicles on highways open to general traffic.

That is why the Government of Spain reiterates its great interest in taking on these tests and trials on highways and roads in our country, given that we also have important and advanced technology centres with staff and exceptional resources to undertake this.

State Secretariat of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure

The State Secretary for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Roberto Sánchez, for his part, stated that the development of 5G corridors is fundamental, not just to give an economic boost, but also to contribute to the territorial structure and social cohesion by extending technology throughout the country.

The commitment of the Spanish Digital Strategy 2025 is to achieve uninterrupted 5G coverage on the main communication routes: motorways, highways and railway lines, he added.

Non official translation