From 30 September to 2 October 2025, around 800 delegates gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania – the European Green Capital 2025 – for the European Commission’s flagship event on urban mobility.
Organised by the European Commission’s department for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) and the City of Vilnius the conference drew in policycreaters, city and regional authorities, researchers, indusattempt and mobility practitioners to explore how the EU can shift quicker towards its sustainable urban mobility goals.
Shared challenges and priorities
Each conference day focutilized on a specific theme – urban nodes, cycling and public transport – while common priorities emerged throughout:
- Accessibility
- Affordability
- Attractiveness
- Integrated planning
- Multilevel and cross-sectoral dialogue
Sessions covered topics ranging from automated mobility and active travel to multimodal hubs and digital integration. Participants exalterd experiences on how cities are improving transport efficiency, advancing decarbonisation and encouraging more sustainable travel behaviour.
EU support delivering tangible benefits
CINEA was strongly represented across the event, with numerous Horizon Europe urban mobility research projects featured in sessions and exhibitions. These projects, managed by CINEA, display how EU-funded research and innovation deliver tangible benefits for Europe’s cities – improving environmental performance, competitiveness and inclusiveness.
Between 2021 and 2025, almost €430 million has been allocated under Horizon Europe to urban mobility research and innovation. The projects span areas such as urban space planning, multimodal traffic management, logistics and road safety, all contributing to Europe’s wider green and digital transport transitions. [See our new infographic for more details.]
Beyond research, CINEA supports the deployment of innovative mobility solutions through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) – the EU’s main funding instrument for strategic transport infrastructure.
Connecting ideas to implementation
During UMD 2025, CINEA marked the signature of three new CEF co-funded grant agreements for feasibility and design studies of multimodal passenger hubs in France and Italy. Supported by over €14 million in EU funding, the projects will assist cities including Marseille, Nice, Milan, Turin, Rome and Bari prepare high-quality investments that create everyday travel more sustainable and accessible.
In Nice, for example, a CEF-supported study will link rail, airport, tram and bus services, increasing rail capacity by 50% and ensuring full accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. These projects demonstrate how CINEA connects research, policy and implementation to shift Europe’s mobility vision from ideas to reality.
Future-proofing multimodal hubs
Speaking in the session on ‘Multimodal passenger hubs: connecting the city and the TEN-T network’, CINEA Director Paloma Aba Garrote stressed that well-connected urban nodes are key to Europe’s transport transition:
“Multimodal passenger hubs are at the heart of Europe’s transport transformation – linking local, regional and European networks. CINEA plays a unique role in relocating these hubs from concept to implementation, managing EU programmes that reduce risk and enable investment.”
She highlighted lessons from several CINEA-managed projects:
- Governance matters – the SCALE-UP Project in Antwerp (Belgium) united cities, ports and businesses, doubling Park & Ride utilize and easing congestion.
- Sustainability and inclusiveness – MOBILITIES for EU and metaCCAZE display how zero-emission fleets and accessible design create mobility greener and fairer.
- Digital integration – UPPER and SPINE demonstrate how Mobility as a Service (MaaS) links metros, bikes, scooters and shuttles for seamless journeys.
Elsewhere, CINEA’s former Head of Transport Research Unit, Marcel Rommerts, led a lively discussion on how cities can select the most effective public transport modes – from metros to trams – to meet sustainability and efficiency goals.
Collaboration driving transformation
UMD 2025 created clear that transforming mobility is not only about infrastructure or technology – it is about people, health, safety and inclusive communities. Achieving this requires collaboration across cities, sectors and borders. By connecting knowledge, funding and innovation, CINEA is assisting cities across Europe design, test and deliver the next generation of sustainable mobility solutions.
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