Autonomous vehicle trials, delayed by seven years, are now positioned to expand across Europe over the next several months.

On Monday, 17 European transport ministers joined EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas in signing a declaration to support extensive cross-border testing of autonomous vehicles.

The effort seeks to simplify testing through a shared framework among the involved nations.

It represents a move from scattered national pilot programs to a unified European strategy for evaluating and readying autonomous vehicles for eventual use.

A primary challenge for the sector has involved Europe's mix of national regulations. Varying testing permits, approval steps and road plus data standards have complicated efforts by firms to introduce services beyond single borders.

The declaration received signatures from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

The focus areas include public transport, freight and logistics.

Participating nations will develop shared approval standards and aligned permitting processes while conducting major testing initiatives across the continent.

The announcement arrives amid rising autonomous vehicle activity throughout Europe.

Also on Monday, Uber and British startup Wayve opened a public waiting list for autonomous taxi rides in London. The service is slated to begin within months, with safety operators present, representing the first opportunity for the UK public to sign up for a robotaxi service.

Where in Europe are robotaxis ready to launch?

Self-driving taxis already function at scale in the United States and China. Europe now aims to close the gap, as leading companies initiate trials across the region.

Zagreb stands out as the initial market for commercial robotaxi service in Europe, per Uber, which began one of the continent's first robotaxi trials in the Croatian capital on 8 April. The company collaborated with Chinese firm Pony.ai and Croatian startup Verne to deploy a trial with roughly 10 autonomous taxis in the city.

Meanwhile, London readies for trials by three key operators this year: Waymo, owned by Google's parent Alphabet; Wayve, partnered with Uber; and Apollo Go, a unit of Chinese tech giant Baidu.

In Madrid, Chinese firm WeRide has revealed a trial with Uber, while Munich prepares to host robotaxis using technology from Chinese company Momenta.

In Switzerland, Apollo Go has teamed with Swiss Post on a pilot program, and Stellantis with Pony.ai plans a trial in Luxembourg.

Ride-hailing platforms such as Uber, Lyft and Bolt serve as central partners in many of these initiatives.

Waymo states it runs around 3,000 driverless taxis in a dozen US cities. Apollo Go reports a comparable fleet size active in 27 Chinese cities and Dubai. Pony.ai maintains about 1,700 vehicles with plans to reach 3,500 by the end of 2026, while WeRide operates near 1,000.

In China and the United States, driverless taxi fleets more than doubled in 2025 to roughly 8,000 vehicles active in over two dozen cities, according to the International Energy Agency. By 2035, the IEA projects between 700,000 and three million robotaxis worldwide.

Consultancy BCG anticipates around three million robotaxis globally by that time, with 850,000 in China, 350,000 in the United States and 120,000 in Europe.

Experts note Europe has lagged due to tighter safety regulations and a robust public transport tradition.

Yet progress continues.

"London is ready, Madrid too," said autonomous mobility expert Herve de Treglode. "We may see commercial service by 2027."