13 June 2026 | Vienna, Austria
Europe’s road network is facing unprecedented challenges—and unprecedented opportunities. Speaking at the E&E Event 2026 in Vienna, Christophe Nicodème, Director General of the European Road Federation (ERF), urged policymakers, industry leaders, and infrastructure managers to embrace a new vision for Europe’s roads, placing resilience, lifecycle performance, and innovation at the heart of future investment decisions.
Addressing the session “Future Trends for Roads and Materials”, the DG of ERF highlighted the profound transformation ongoing across the road sector, driven by climate change, digitalisation, resource scarcity, and changing mobility patterns.
“Roads are much more than transport infrastructure,» he said. “They are strategic assets that underpin Europe’s competitiveness, territorial cohesion, and economic resilience. The challenge before us is to ensure that our road network evolves to meet tomorrow’s environmental, technological, and societal expectations.”
With more than five million kilometers of roads carrying the vast majority of passenger and freight transport across Europe, road infrastructure remains essential to the functioning of the Single Market. Yet this critical asset is under increasing pressure from ageing infrastructure, chronic underinvestment in maintenance, more frequent extreme weather events, and rapidly evolving mobility demands.
Against this backdrop, ERF stressed that sustainability must be understood across the entire lifecycle of road infrastructure—from planning and design to construction, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life. Achieving climate neutrality cannot rely solely on reducing emissions during construction; it also requires longer-lasting infrastructure, better asset management, increased circularity, and smarter investment decisions.
ERF identified several priorities that should guide Europe’s road policies in the years ahead:
- placing maintenance and asset preservation on an equal footing with new infrastructure investment;
- accelerating the deployment of low-carbon materials and circular construction practices;
- integrating digital technologies, connectivity, and data-driven asset management throughout the road network;
- designing infrastructure capable of withstanding the growing impacts of climate change;
- ensuring roads continue to provide safe, accessible, and inclusive mobility for all users; and
- aligning European policies with adequate, predictable, and long-term funding.
While welcoming initiatives such as the European Green Deal and the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), ERF warned that implementation remains uneven across Europe. Fragmented regulatory frameworks, inconsistent technical standards, and insufficient funding for maintenance continue to delay the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient road network.
ERF also highlighted the growing contribution of the road sector to innovation, including digital twins, smart monitoring systems, automation, advanced materials, and lifecycle assessment tools that enable better environmental and economic decision-making.
The E&E Event, jointly organised by the European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA) and Eurobitume, brought together leading experts from across Europe to explore how innovation can support the next generation of road infrastructure.
Finally, ERF reaffirmed its commitment to working with European institutions, national authorities, and industry partners to ensure that road infrastructure policies fully reflect the strategic importance of roads for mobility, economic prosperity, and climate resilience.
