Brussels, Sept. 29, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal signed a joint declaration of intent in Brussels on Tuesday to accelerate the roll-out of autonomous vehicles in Europe, «in a safe, coordinated and competitive manner».

Portugal, Slovakia and Norway also signed this initiative today, as part of the Europe Connecting Days.

«Today, Portugal, Slovakia and Norway signed the Joint Declaration of Intent on cross-border test beds for autonomous vehicles,» reads a statement from the European Commission sent to Lusa.

This initiative supports the cross-border deployment of autonomous vehicles in areas such as public transport, freight and logistics.

Spain had also signed up to this commitment last week, bringing the number of participating countries to 22.

The aim of this declaration is to accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles across Europe, «in a safe, coordinated and competitive manner».

The countries have committed to developing common principles for licence approval and their implementation across Europe, as well as to conducting trials.

The initiative is part of a European action plan that brings together member states, regional and local authorities, industry stakeholders and transport operators.

On Saturday, Lusa contacted the Ministry of Infrastructure for more information on the agreement and looks forward to a response.

By 8 June, 18 Member States had already signed the declaration: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

The Europe Connecting Days, which run until 1 October and bring together politicians, representatives from the transport sector, industry and the European Commission, aim to discuss measures and best practices for a safer, more sustainable and more competitive transport sector in Europe.

*** Lusa travelled to Brussels at the invitation of the European Commission *** PE/ADB // ADB.

Lusa