The European Commission has selected 107 transport infrastructure projects to receive over 6 billion euros in EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s instrument for strategic investment in transport infrastructure.
Over 80 per cent of the funding will support projects that deliver a more efficient, greener, and smarter network of railways, inland waterways and maritime routes along the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network. Projects will in addition bolster the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, set up to facilitate Ukraine’s exports and imports.
“We are allocating 6.2 billion euros to projects across Europe that will take us closer to completing the Trans-European Network for Transport, TEN-T, the backbone of the EU’s economy,” said Adina Vălean, Commissioner for Transport. “I am particularly happy that 250 million euros will improve cross-border connections between Ukraine, Moldova, and their EU neighbours Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. These projects will make transporting goods between the EU and Ukraine easier, reinforcing the Solidarity Lanes.”
Major cross-border rail connections along the TEN-T core network have been also prioritised for funding. These include notably the Brenner Base tunnel (linking Italy and Austria), Rail Baltica (connecting the three Baltic States and Poland with the rest of Europe), as well as the cross-border section between Germany and the Netherlands (Emmerich–Oberhausen), among others.
Maritime ports in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland will receive funding for developing on-shore power supply to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from moored vessels.
To further increase the safety and interoperability of EU rail transport, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will be installed on trains and railway lines in Czechia, Denmark, Germany, France, Austria and Slovakia. On roads, several EU Member States will deploy Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS), in particular, cooperative ITS (C-ITS) for safer and more efficient transport. Several Member States will get support for European air traffic management projects, with a view to increasing efficiency in air transport and creating a Single European Sky.