Based on the nomination by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, the ERA Chair Holder, Tatiana Kováčiková, participated in the first meeting of the Strategic Transport Research Innovation Agenda (STRIA) governance group, which took place on 21 November 2017 in Brussels.

STRIA aims to address the Energy Union, the challenges of the transport sector and other policy goals. This strategy follows a holistic approach to deeply transform the transport sector. To this end, 7 relevant thematic areas have been identified:

  • Electrification;
  • Alternative fuels;
  • Vehicle design & manufacturing;
  • Connected and automated transport;
  • Transport infrastructure;
  • Network and traffic management systems;
  • Smart transport and mobility services (including urban).

For each of these thematic areas, external experts have produced reports and a roadmap outlining the steps needed to support and speed up the research, innovation and deployment process of innovative technologies. These reports have been further developed in the Commission staff working document “Towards clean, competitive and connected mobility: the contribution of Transport Research and Innovation to the Mobility Package These reports identify the measures that are needed to make the transition “towards clean, competitive and connected mobility for all” as identified in “Europe on the Move: Commission takes action for clean, competitive and connected mobility.

The strategy will span decades and its implementation requires the establishment of a governance structure involving EU institutions, Member States, local administrations and relevant transport stakeholders.

STRIA will also contribute to the 2011 Transport White Paper goals as well as the European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility adopted in June 2016.

The STRIA governance group aims at ensuring coordination of Transport R&I priorities and initiatives at EU, national, regional and local levels and assisting the European Commission with the implementation, monitoring and updating of Transport R&I roadmaps and priorities.