A Common EU Approach to Liability Rules and Insurance for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

This analysis has been drawn up by the European Added Value Unit within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). It builds on two expert research studies carried out by the Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law and RAND Europe for the European Added Value Unit of the European Parliament's DG EPRS. The two expert research papers are presented in full in Annex I and Annex II. This assessment of European added value finds that revision of the EU's current legislative framework is necessary, notably as regards the regulation of civil liability and insurance. Quantitative assessment of added value, at the current stage of technological development, proved difficult and inconclusive. A qualitative analysis, however, provided evidence that action at EU level would (i) promote legal certainty; (ii) reduce the transaction costs for car manufacturers and public administrations arising from differences in national liability rules and systems for the determination and calculation of damages; and (iii) secure effective consumer protection. Not only would revision ensure legal coherence and better safeguarding of consumers rights but it would also be likely to generate economic added value. It is argued that accelerating the adoption curve of driverless or autonomous vehicles (AVs) by five years has the economic potential to generate European added value worth approximately 148 billion Euros.