Highlights from the EuroVelo General Meeting 2026

The EuroVelo General Meeting (EVGM) is the annual gathering of National EuroVelo Coordination Centres in the framework of the EuroVelo & Cycling Tourism Conference.

In 2026, the EVGM was held on Wednesday 30 September at the Royal Jaarbeurs in Utrecht and in a hybrid form. 49 people took part in person, while 16 joined the online meeting. As every year, the meeting is an occasion for National EuroVelo Coordination Centres to meet and exchange on EuroVelo-related successes and challenges, as well as to get the latest updates on EuroVelo work.

All NECCs, covering 25 countries of Europe, were represented at the EVGM 2026, either online or in person – a powerful display of the network’s commitment. Aside from the EuroVelo Council members and the EuroVelo team, observers can join the EVGM too, representing aspiring National EuroVelo Coordination Centres, or organisations working on cycle routes and cycling tourism at various levels. This year, we were happy to welcome observers from Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.

Updates, voting and elections

The EuroVelo General Meeting was opened by Tim Smit of the Province of Utrecht, who welcomed the participants highlighting how cycling is part of the Dutch lifestyle, connects people and contributes to health, and the fact that Dutch people travel by bicycle not only in their country, but also abroad.

The EVGM conventionally starts with a procedural part, following the EuroVelo Governance, which consists of voting on documents such as the Annual Report, Budget and Work Plan. The assembly, chaired by EuroVelo Council members Christian Weinberger and Silvia Casorran Martos, also acknowledged a review of the governance as approved by the ECF Board in 2025.

While no applications to establish National EuroVelo Coordination Centres were considered this year, there was one open position for the EuroVelo Council, following the end of Karine Dupuy’s mandate. Choosing between three shortlisted candidates, the National EuroVelo Coordination Centres elected Aurélien Boulé Fournier, councillor of Nantes Métropole in France, as a new EuroVelo Council member in the first round.

In his speech, Aurélien highlighted his passion for EuroVelo and his experience in cycling policies and politics, from his experience as an elected councillor in charge of cycling in Nantes. As an active member of Cities & Regions for Cyclists and Réseau vélo et marche, he pledged to strengthen the continuity and integration of the European cycle route network and to build bridges between local and European actors and between cycling, tourism and transport.

The assembly warmly welcomed Aurélien Boulé Fournier to the EuroVelo Council and heartfeltly thanked Karine Dupuy, former CEO of France Vélo Tourisme, for her commitment as EuroVelo Council member for three years.

Knowledge-sharing and workshops

Every EuroVelo General Meeting is an occasion for the hosting country’s National EuroVelo Coordination Centre to put a spotlight on their work. In the Netherlands, Fietsplatform coordinates not only EuroVelo, but also all recreational cycle routes and long-distance cycle routes. Eric Nijland, Fietsplatform's Director, introduced Pim de Kok as the new contact person for EuroVelo coordination.

As explained by Pim, Fietsplatform gathers all Dutch provinces in a single body, working as a national and international knowledge hub on route structure and data for the node network and the long-distance cycle routes, and as the coordinator of Nederland Fietsland, the user portal for recreational cycling in the Netherlands.

Jesper Pørksen of Danish Cycling Tourism also reflected on his mandate as EuroVelo Council Chair, which comes to an end in 2027. Jesper mentioned the route improvements 25 years after his first cycle trip, and the fact that the next generation will have less to do to make sure that the EuroVelo network is complete in the future, but also that quality needs to be constantly improved. Jesper’s three highlights of his current mandate are the fact that EuroVelo and its network are a knowledge bank for information about cycling tourism, the network of ‘partners in crime’, which never makes you feel alone working in the sector and has grown with five new NECCs since the start of his mandate, and the fact that EuroVelo is a strong voice to make cycling tourism visible in Europe.

To conclude the morning programme, the ‘open mic’ session made a welcome return to the EVGM agenda: every NECC had the chance to briefly present achievements, challenges and updates from their country. Notably:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia are working on the Sava Cycle Route, a candidate to join the EuroVelo network, despite political and coordination challenges
• The German Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility has redeveloped the German National Cycle Route Network website
• Poland is working on data collection and slowly switching the central government’s attitude towards cycling tourism
• The UK government has announced £100M for the National Cycling Network, to improve its resilience and inclusivity
• EuroVelo 15 – Rhine Cycle Route in the Netherlands is getting a complete revamp and re-routing in the near future
• Signposting is to be completed on EuroVelo 3 in Denmark and on all EuroVelo routes in Norway
• Route development and improvements continue in Hungary, Italy, Ireland and Spain
• The Belgium Annual EuroVelo Meeting plans to evolve into a Belgian cycling conference, capitalising on the strong connections between daily cycling and tourism
• Public budget cuts are impacting NECCs’ work in many countries, but the work continues.

The afternoon session saw six workshops in a world café format, led by the EuroVelo Council and team. Workshops are a very valued part of the EVGM as they encourage deeper discussions and mutual learning on governance, funding, data and monitoring, brand and marketing, and underdeveloped parts of the network. A table also discussed the 30 years of EuroVelo, an important milestone coming up in 2027.

The EuroVelo family will meet again in person at the EuroVelo General Meeting 2027 which will take place in Trieste, Italy, on Wednesday 29 September, hosted by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Article by Jessica Casagrande