The countries of the European Union can set speed limits on their roads, but some argue that there should be a common rule for the whole of the Community area, for efficiency, road safety, simplification or environmental protection.
© Shutterstock
17/08/2026
by
Athe European Union is free to establish its own speed limits on the roads. What if was there a common rule among all Member States?
This is the view that Günther Fehlinger-Jahn, the chairman of the Austrian NATO Enlargement Committee, advocates. In a recent social publication, the Austrian called for a speed limit common to the entire European Union: “100 km/h on all motorways and major roads“.
The economist also justified his proposal with the simplification of rules at european level, road safety and road deaths reduction, energy saving and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, evoking still environmental reasons and noise levels.
The publication reads: “Europe must become safer, more energy efficient and less dependent on hostile energy suppliers. A Europe. A maximum speed: 100 km/h”.
In March, the same Günther Fehlinger-Jahn had already defended the same limit of 100 km/h, stressing that “Europe must reduce dependence on oil”. It estimates that this maximum speed would “decrease petrol consumption by 20 to 30 percent on motorways, saving billions of euros and reducing Europe’s vulnerability to energy shocks.”.
It advocates a real union in Europe on road regulations, promoting the unification of ‘basic road safety standards’. Do you understand that limiting the speed of combustion cars and trucks to 100 km/h is a “simple, inexpensive and effective” measure, which also means less polluting emissions and less air and noise pollution, as well as cars generating less dust from tyres and brakes. On the other hand, it stresses that this would be a measure that would ‘significantly reduce fatal accidents in Europe’.
Exception? The electric ones
Having said that, Günther Fehlinger-Jahn is of the opinion that electric cars should stay outside the speed limits of 100 km/ h: “They must not be penalised for the inefficiencies of combustion technology”.
For the chairman of the Austrian NATO Enlargement Committee, this would be “a clear incentive to electrification” without prohibiting combustion engines.
Are non-uniform speed limits confusing?
On the European Commission’s website, it can be read that “general rule, the national government decides on national general speed limits for different types of road”, and can also implement the exceptions. “It is usually the road authority that decides which speed limit is applied on a specific road or road section under its jurisdiction.”.
On motorways, most Member States have a maximum speed of 120 km/ h (including Portugal and Spain, for example) or 130 km/ h. But there are differences: for example, the Czech Republic has a limit of 150 km/h in a specific section of a motorway, while Germany has no unbounded roads in certain places (it may be decreed if weather conditions warrant it).
On roads outside residential areas, the limits are usually 80 km/h or 90 km/h, while urban areas may have limits of 30 km/h or 50 km/h.
On the other hand, adverse weather conditions can dictate special limits in certain countries. France lowers them from 130 km/h to 110 km/h on motorways and from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on roads outside urban areas if it is raining or snowing. The fog, on the other hand, puts the speed limit at 50 km/h on all roads, while in heat situations the temporary reduction of the limits can be implemented by 20 km/h or 30 km/h to contain pollution.
Also for meteorological reasons, Finland and Sweden have their own speed limits for the winter months – which is a particularly strict season there.
In another particular case in the Netherlands, where certain sections of motorways have a lower permanent speed limit of 80 km/h or 100 km/h. The objective is to mitigate the air and noise pollution on roads that pass near residential areas.