Across Europe, the conversation around automated transport is changing.
For more than a decade, countries, cities, operators, authorities, research organisations, and industry have invested in pilots, demonstrations, testbeds, and research projects. Valuable lessons have been learned, technologies have matured, and confidence in automated transport has grown.
Now the focus is increasingly shifting from testing to deployment, implementation, and scaling.
A clear signal came earlier this month when 18 European countries signed a joint declaration supporting the establishment of large-scale cross-border test and deployment environments for automated vehicles. The initiative aims to accelerate the safe introduction of automated passenger and freight transport across Europe and strengthen cooperation on regulation, infrastructure, interoperability, safety, cybersecurity, and data sharing.
Finland and Sweden are among the signatories, demonstrating the strong commitment already present in parts of the Nordic region. We hope Norway and Denmark will sign it too.
At the same time, ITS Norway recently joined PAVE Europe (Partner for Automated Vehicle Education Europe), a growing European network dedicated to advancing understanding, collaboration, and deployment of automated transport solutions.
Together, these developments raise an important question:
How can the Nordic and Baltic region work together to accelerate the implementation and scaling of automated transport?
Strong experience, but fragmented efforts
The Nordic and Baltic countries have built significant experience through projects, testbeds, and national initiatives.
Examples include:
- AUFORA in Norway
- SAAM DK in Denmark
- SIKTA in Sweden
- Numerous Horizon Europe and national research and innovation projects, like the MODI and ULTIMO projects.
- Leading test environments and pilot programmes across the region
Many of the opportunities and challenges are shared.
Questions around safety, regulation, infrastructure, digital connectivity, data sharing, business models, public acceptance, procurement, and cross-border operation are not limited by national borders.
Yet, despite strong activity in each country, there is currently no dedicated Nordic-Baltic arena to bring these experiences together and explore common priorities.
A first step: Nordic+ Forum for Automated Transport
To explore this opportunity, Nordic+ and partners are inviting public and private stakeholders from across the Nordic and Baltic region to an initial discussion on automated transport and cross-border collaboration.
Nordic+ Forum for Automated Transport
Date: 30 June 2026
Time: 10:00–12:00 CET
Format: Online (Teams)
The meeting will bring together representatives from authorities, operators, cities, industry, academia, and innovation organisations to share experiences and discuss future collaboration.
The discussion will focus on:
- Lessons learned from national initiatives
- Opportunities for cross-border collaboration
- Common barriers to deployment and scaling
- Nordic and Baltic priorities in a European context
- Potential next steps for regional cooperation
The intention is not to create another discussion forum, but to explore how the region can work together more effectively to support implementation and real-world deployment.
Looking beyond projects
Many successful projects have demonstrated what automated transport can achieve.
The next challenge is ensuring that these experiences lead to lasting impact.
This includes:
- Stronger Nordic-Baltic collaboration
- Better alignment with European initiatives
- More coordinated approaches to deployment
- Increased opportunities for industry and operators
- Shared learning and knowledge exchange
- Cross-border services and operations
One possible outcome could be the development of a common Nordic-Baltic roadmap for automated transport that complements and supports ongoing European activities.
Another could be exploring whether the region would benefit from a more permanent structure for collaboration, knowledge sharing, implementation support, and strategic coordination.
From testing to scaling
The Nordic region has often been among the first to test and demonstrate new transport technologies.
The challenge now is ensuring that we are also among the first to deploy and scale them.
The Nordic+ discussion on 30 June is intended as a first step in that conversation.
Relevant links
European Commission – EU ministers back cross-border initiative for autonomous vehicle testbeds
https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/eu-ministers-back-cross-border-initiative-autonomous-vehicle-testbeds-2026-06-08_en
PAVE Europe
https://paveeurope.eu
ITS Norway joins PAVE Europe
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7473324080121958400/
