The Digital Omnibus on AI Regulation Proposal, introduced by the European Commission in November 2025, is a targeted legislative proposal aimed at streamlining the implementation of the EU AI Act. It introduces focused amendments to simplify obligations, reduce unnecessary administrative burden and better align timelines and requirements with technological and market realities. In essence, it is intended to make the AI framework more workable in practice, particularly where overlaps with other EU legislation or delays in standards development have created uncertainty for industry.
For ERTICO Partners (especially those developing, integrating or deploying AI-enabled mobility and ITS solutions), the Omnibus could provide greater legal clarity and potentially more realistic compliance timelines. This is particularly relevant for high-risk AI systems, where conformity assessment, documentation and governance requirements are substantial. At the same time, the proposal is still under negotiation in the EP and the Council, meaning the final scope and timing of the adjustments are not yet finalised.
The direction of travel remains clear: the EU is committed to maintaining a robust, risk-based AI framework, but with increased attention to implementation feasibility and competitiveness. Continued engagement from the mobility and transport innovation community will therefore be important as the legislative process progresses. ERTICO will continue its advocacy efforts in this process, ensuring that ERTICO Partners are kept informed of the most relevant policy developments. ERTICO supports the TM 2.0 position on the treatment of high-risk AI systems under the AI Act and is substantiated by the White Paper on Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in the Domain of Transport & Mobility, which provides further analysis of AI across the mobility ecosystem.
• TM 2.0 position paper
• ERTICO White Paper on Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in the Domain of Transport & Mobility
ERTICO selected to join the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA)
ERTICO – ITS Europe has been selected by the European Commission as a Participant organisation in the European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance (ECAVA), the new strategic platform established under the Automotive Industrial Action Plan to accelerate Europe’s leadership in connected, cooperative and autonomous mobility. The background of this plan can be found here and here.
This selection recognises ERTICO’s role as a trusted multi-stakeholder platform at the intersection of digital, transport and automotive innovation. It reinforces our commitment to supporting the industrial deployment of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) solutions in Europe.
Joost Vantomme, CEO of ERTICO – ITS Europe: “We are pleased to be selected as a contributor in this important European platform. For 35 years, ERTICO has been delivering innovation through EU-funded projects and building trusted partnerships across the mobility ecosystem. With ECAVA, the time has come to translate Europe’s technological excellence in software-defined vehicles, AI and autonomous driving into tangible deployment at scale. Together with our automotive and mobility members, we are ready to help accelerate this next phase of European industrial leadership.”
What is ECAVA?
ECAVA is an industrial discussion and advisory forum bringing together key actors across the automotive value chain — vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, semiconductor and compute providers, AI developers, research organisations, start-ups and public authorities.
Its overall objective is to coordinate and accelerate technological developments and investments in:
- Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV)
- AI-powered automotive systems and data ecosystems
- Automotive hardware and computing architectures
- Autonomous vehicle deployment at scale
The Alliance is designed as a lean, outcome-oriented structure governed by a Steering Committee, with Working Groups expected to deliver concrete inputs to upcoming EU instruments and initiatives. These include large-scale cross-border testbeds, the CCAM Partnership demonstrators, future research and innovation programming under FP10, and potential Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs).
ECAVA aims to reduce fragmentation, align industrial roadmaps, and strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty in a context of increasing global competition in software, artificial intelligence, and compute platforms.
ERTICO’s Contribution
ERTICO is actively engaged in three ECAVA Working Groups:
Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV)
Contributing to discussions on scaling common open-source ecosystems, industrialising non-differentiating software building blocks, and strengthening collaboration across the European automotive software stack.
Artificial Intelligence & Data
Supporting the development of trusted data-sharing frameworks, AI model collaboration, and governance approaches that enable innovation while ensuring compliance, security and scalability.
Autonomous Vehicle Deployment
Contributing to the preparation of large-scale cross-border testbeds and the Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities initiative, with a strong focus on real-world deployment, interoperability, safety assurance, and regulatory alignment.
Through its unique public-private partnership model, ERTICO brings a neutral, cross-sector perspective to ECAVA discussions. Our experience in European platforms, large-scale pilots and deployment-oriented projects ensures that ECAVA deliberations remain grounded in operational and regulatory realities.
Several Partners of ERTICO are also selected. By engaging in ECAVA, we collectively reinforce our mission to enable safer, smarter and more sustainable mobility through digital innovation and collaborative deployment.
During a 2-day kick-off (5 & 6 February 2026), the foundations were laid down. Our team made it clear that tangible use cases are available and that we will actively contribute with our project knowledge, cross-sector dialogues, regulatory and operational insights.
We will continue to inform and involve our Partnership in relevant developments as ECAVA progresses towards concrete deliverables and implementation pathways.