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05.02.2021

Vision Zero: EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030

European Commission welcomes United Nations Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety

On 19 and 20 February 2020, government delegates from more than 80 countries discussed how to improve global road safety in the next decade. During the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm, Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth presented the Stockholm Declaration, stressing the need for continued ambition in particular by working towards a new global fatality reduction target, as the current target expires this year. The document provides guidance up to 2030, focussing on international cooperation to improve road safety on a global level, notably in those regions where fatality rates are still especially high.

The European Commission welcomes the Stockholm Declaration, which reinforces the EU’s own ‘Vision Zero’ aspirations: the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 aims at halving the number of fatalities and serious injuries on European roads by 2030, as a milestone on the way to zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2050.

In her opening remarks at the conference, Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: “Road traffic crashes kill too many people, and what worries me the most is the fact that they are the biggest killer of young people worldwide. We can no longer accept the unacceptable. I consider it is our duty to find solutions to improve road safety and we must act now, at local, European and global level. If we want to show leadership, we first need to embrace change. We cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results.”

Background
The 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety was co-sponsored by the government of Sweden and the World Health Organization (WHO). Road Safety is also included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with the target to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road crashes by 2030.

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