Brussels, Belgium – The European Commission and Polis invited cities and regions to sign the European Road Safety Charter on 23 October 2007.

The signing ceremony took place at the Polis premises, and was presided over by Tex Pemberton, Chairman of the Polis Safety and Security Working Group. It illustrates the growing involvement of European local authorities in the charter.

The mass application of cities and regions this year has led to the organisation of an event, with almost 30 new signatories from over ten different countries.

Mrs Maria Teresa Sanz Villegas, European Commission Project Officer, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, highlighted the need for major commitment and the active and original contributions of the European Road Safety Charter signatories to reduce accidents on European roads.

Their commitments to implement concrete, targeted and measurable prevention actions on a local level will contribute to the European Union objective of saving 25 000 lives in Europe.

These pragmatic contributions reinforce the crucial role of the European Road Safety Charter as a flexible and operational prevention platform for road safety in Europe.