evidence: Many European countries do not meet legal air quality standards for ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) near roads; a problem that has been forecasted to persist to 2030. Although European air quality standards regulate NO2 concentrations, emissions standards for new vehicles instead set limits for NOx—the combination of nitric oxide (NO) and NO2. From around 1990 onwards, the total emissions of NOx declined significantly in Europe, but roadside concentrations of NO2—a regulated species—declined much less than expected. This discrepancy has been attributed largely to the increasing usage of diesel vehicles in Europe and more directly emitted tailpipe NO2. Here we apply a data-filtering technique to 130 million hourly measurements of NOx, NO2 and ozone (O3) from roadside monitoring stations across 61 urban areas in Europe over the period 1990–2015 to estimate the continent-wide trends of directly emitted NO2. We find that the ratio of NO2 to NOx emissions increased from 1995 to around 2010 but has since stabilized at a level that is substantially lower than is assumed in some key emissions inventories. The proportion of NOx now being emitted directly from road transport as NO2 is up to a factor of two smaller than the estimates used in policy projections. We therefore conclude that there may be a faster attainment of roadside NO2 air quality standards across Europe than is currently expected. [...] Grice, S. et al. Recent trends and projections of primary NO2 emissions in Europe. Atmos. Environ.43, 2154–2167 (2009).