The Commission has chosen 134 transport projects that will receive more than €7 billion in EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s instrument for strategic infrastructure investment, EEAS reports.
Some 83% of the funding will go to projects aimed at meeting EU climate targets and improving and modernising the EU’s rail, inland waterway and maritime networks as part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
Rail projects will be allocated 80% of the €7bn. In addition, a revised TEN-T regulation comes into force from Thursday. The funding will go towards major projects to improve cross-border rail links along the main TEN-T network – in the Baltic States (Rail Baltica), between France and Italy (Lyon-Tourin) and between Denmark and Germany (Fehmarnbelt tunnel).
Some 20 seaports in Ireland, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Lithuania, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece and Poland will receive support for infrastructure modernisation, some of which will enable them to supply ships with electricity from shore or transport renewable energy.
Inland waterway infrastructure works will improve cross-border links between France and Belgium in the Seine and Scheldt basin, and between Romania and Bulgaria on the Danube. Inland ports in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands will also receive funding to enable them to further develop Europe’s network of rivers and canals for sustainable transport.
In terms of road transport, the launch of joint Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS) and the creation of new, safe and secure car parks will improve safety for both private individuals and professionals. Air traffic management projects will continue the development of the Single European Sky to make air transport more efficient, safe and sustainable.
Finally, several projects will increase the capacity of the EU-Ukraine solidarity lanes created to facilitate imports and exports between Ukraine and the EU. These projects include: improvements to road transport infrastructure at border crossings between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania; works to increase the capacity of the Hungary-Ukraine railway crossing point; a new road section in Poland to the Ukrainian border; and studies and works to integrate the Ukrainian railway system into the EU.
Next steps
Following yesterday’s approval of the list of 134 projects by Member States, the Commission will formally take the funding decision and CINEA will start preparing the grant agreements. The results obtained are preliminary and will only become final once the Commission has taken the appropriate grant decision.
Background
134 projects were selected from 408 applications submitted under this call for proposals, which closed on 18 January 2024. EU funding will be in the form of grants that will be used to co-finance the overall project costs. Under the CEF’s 2021-2027 transport programme, €25.8 billion has been allocated for grants to co-finance TEN-T projects in Member States.
Since 2014, the CEF has supported more than 1,500 projects worth €37.5bn in the transport sector (not including the projects selected today). Starting on Thursday, the updated TEN-T regulation will step up efforts to create a sustainable and resilient transport network in the EU. It promotes sustainable transport modes, digitalisation and multimodality, and addresses climate and military mobility.
