The European Cycling Declaration proposal is the Commission’s most ambitious initiative on cycling to date. It elevates cycling to a strategic priority and acknowledges the vital role cycling has to play in generating enormous benefits for Europe, stating: “This Declaration recognises cycling as one of the most sustainable, accessible and inclusive, low-cost and healthy forms of transport and recreation, and its key importance for European society and economy.”

The adoption of the European Cycling Declaration Proposal was announced by EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean during the Urban Mobility Days conference organised by the Commission and the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Declaration was officially launched at a special event in the Plaza de San Francisco in Seville ahead of the opening of the Urban Mobility Days 2023. 

Commissioner Vălean said: "The European Declaration of Cycling that we are adopting today is designed to get more people onto saddles. It contains commitments to the coherent creation of cycle networks in cities, to better link public transport hubs, to secure parking with charging infrastructure for bikes and to build cycle highways between cities, while connecting rural areas." Closing her speech, she encouraged everyone present to continue to promote pedal power.

Commenting on the announcement, Jill Warren said, “This is a key milestone for cycling. We are delighted that the Declaration reflects many of ECF’s longstanding advocacy and policy demands aimed at increasing and improving cycling in Europe, such as creating more and better cycling infrastructure and encouraging inclusive and affordable mobility. This is an excellent framework for enabling many more Europeans to cycle – and to cycle more safely.”

Philip Amaral, ECF Policy and Development Director, added: “We congratulate the Commission on their collaborative and consultative approach that has led to this Declaration, not only with the European Parliament and Council and internally within the Commission, but also externally with key stakeholders including the cities, regions, Member State officials, industry associations, companies and NGOs represented in the Commission’s Expert Group on Urban Mobility (EGUM).”

Philip Amaral serves as co-chair of the EGUM Subgroup on Active Mobility and Safety of Vulnerable Road Users. ECF and CIE played leading roles in the EGUM stakeholder consultation held in July. Both organisations were pleased to see that many of the recommendations in our joint statement were incorporated into the Declaration.

Kevin Mayne, CEO of CIE, said: “We have long advocated for a unified EU cycling policy that would place cycling on the same level as other modes of transport and industrial sectors in the EU, releasing more coherent policy support, greater consistency across EU Member States and billions more for investments. The Declaration breaks new ground by including all the key areas required for a successful cycling ecosystem for society and business.”

The comprehensive Declaration contains eight principles with 36 commitments to enable more and better cycling and to support the delivery of climate targets and objectives of the European Green Deal, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the New EU Urban Mobility Framework, as well as the aims of the EU industrial strategy. The eight principles include:

• Developing and strengthening cycling policies
• Encouraging inclusive and affordable mobility
• Creating more and better cycling infrastructure
• Increasing investments and creating favourable conditions for cycling
• Improving road safety and security
• Supporting green jobs and the development of a world-class European cycling industry
• Supporting multimodality and cycling tourism
• Improving the collection of data on cycling

The Commission’s Declaration delivers on a pledge made earlier this year by former Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans. Speaking at the CIE Summit in Brussels in March 2023, Timmermans announced that the EU institutions would complete an ambitious cycling plan this year, including commitments to increase funding for infrastructure and industrial growth.

The Declaration follows numerous recent pro-cycling developments in the EU and beyond, including:

• The European Parliament’s adoption by an overwhelming majority in February 2023 of a groundbreaking EU Cycling Resolution, which called on the Commission to treat cycling as a fully-fledged mode of transport and to develop a European cycling strategy with commitments to double cycling levels and support the creation of one million additional green cycling sector jobs;
• A Member State European Cycling Declaration led by Belgium, with similar aims to the Parliament’s resolution, signed by a coalition of 16 EU countries to date;   
• The adoption by 54 European countries in 2021 of a Pan-European Masterplan for Cycling Promotion, with ambitions for countries to create national cycling strategies and to harmonise the quality of cycling infrastructure in Europe;

ECF has been closely involved with and influenced positive outcomes in all of these developments as the only civil society voice for cycling at the pan-European level, and as the world’s largest and best-known cyclists’ advocacy organisation. From generating and providing evidence to make the case for cycling, to providing expert input and recommendations to policy and decision makers, to writing position papers and actively participating in consultations, to advocating strongly for effective policies and investments: ECF is proud of our contribution and the excellent cooperation with the cycling and sustainable mobility community and the institutions that helped deliver this historic result for the benefit people who cycle, now and in the future.

Looking ahead, Jill Warren said: “We celebrate this historic European Cycling Declaration with our members, stakeholders and partners and stand ready to support the institutions in unleashing cycling’s full potential to enable more Europeans to cycle – and to cycle more safely.”