The European Commission has selected 107 transport infrastructure projects that will receive subsidies from the pool of over EUR 6 billion from the EU’s Connecting Europe Fund (CEF). Among them is Rail Baltica. The projects will further strengthen the EU-Ukraine solidarity routes established to facilitate Ukrainian exports and imports, the Commission said.
The main cross-border railway connections, the so-called the TEN-T core network, received priority funding. These include in particular the Brenner Base Tunnel that connects Italy and Austria, Rail Baltica, connecting the three Baltic States and Poland with the rest of Europe, as well as a cross-border section between Germany and the Netherlands, Emmerich-Oberhausen. Seaports in IrelandGreece Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland will receive development funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from moored ships. The infrastructure along the Seine-Scheldt cross-border waterways between France and Belgium. Inland ports in the Danube-Rhine basin, such as Vienna and Andernach, will also be upgraded.
Financial support for railways, but also aviation
The European Rail Traffic Management System, ERTMS, will be installed on trains and lines in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Austria and Slovakia. On roads, several EU countries will deploy ITS intelligent transport systems and services to ensure safer and more efficient transport. Several Member States will receive support for European air traffic management projects to increase the efficiency of this transport and create the Single European Sky. Out of 353 submitted applications, 107 projects were selected for the call for proposals announced in 2022. EU funding will take the form of grants that will co-finance the total cost of the project. Under the CEF Transport program for 2021-2027, EUR 25.8 billion is available for co-financing TEN-T projects in EU countries. Since 2014, the CEF has supported almost 1,300 projects with a total value of €29.4 billion in the transport sector, excluding those proposed in June 2023.
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