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Investing in European transport sector: Commission offers €13 bln

Eugene Eteris, BC, Copenhagen, 30.06.2015.Print version
The Commission is further delivering on the initial top priority of creating jobs and boosting growth in EU; this time it unveils about €13.1 billion investment into 276 transport projects, selected under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). This investment is expected to unlock additional public and private co-financing for a combined amount of €28.8 billion. In the Baltic States Rail Baltica project is eligible for the funding.

Under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), €24,5 billion will be made available from the EU’s 2014-20 budget to co-fund TEN-T projects in the EU-28 states. Of this amount, €11,3 billion will be available for projects in those EU member states, which are eligible for the Cohesion Fund; all the three Baltic States are in this category.

 

Annual and multi-annual work programs specify the set of priorities and the total amount of financial support to be committed for each of these priorities in a given year.

 

The very first research and funding support under the CEF programming took place in 2014.

 


Stimulating investments

Along with the future European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the CEF will play a major role in bridging the investment gap in Europe, which is one of the Commission's top priorities. Beyond transport, it will benefit the European economy as a whole by creating more favourable conditions for growth and jobs.

 

Commenting on the new investment package, EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc underlined that such largest investment has never been made by the EU in the transport area.

The projects selected by the Commission will serve citizens and businesses alike, by upgrading infrastructure and removing existing bottlenecks.

 

The projects will also promote sustainable and innovative mobility solutions. Besides, the investment represents a major contribution to the Commission’s agenda of growth and job creations: by implementing the trans-European transport network, it would create up to 10 million jobs and increase Europe’s GDP by 1.8% by 2030, she added.


Supporting core trans-European transport network

Selected projects are primarily located in the core trans-European transport network. Among the beneficiaries are flagship initiatives such as Rail Baltica, the Brenner Base Tunnel, the Seine-Escaut waterway, the Caland Bridge and the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.

 

Smaller-scale initiatives include cross-border projects between Groningen and Bremen, the Iron Rhine rail line, LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) deployment plans or projects enhancing the navigability of the Danube River.

 

Launched in September 2014, the CEF calls for proposals generated an unprecedented interest. The Commission received 700 applications totaling €36 billion of requested funding, three times more than the available resources.

 

Therefore the Commission undertook a thorough projects’ selection and chosen only projects with the highest European added value, while guaranteeing a balanced distribution geographically and between the transport modes.

 

In particular, nearly €4.8 billion have been earmarked for the EU member states eligible for Cohesion Funds. Contribution to other Commission priority actions, such as the Energy Union or the Digital Single Market, was also evaluated during the selection process.

 

The EU's financial contribution is made in the form of grants, the co-financing rate of which is between 20% and 85% of a given project, depending on the project’s type.


Next steps

The proposed funding decision must now be formally adopted by the Connecting Europe Facility Committee, which will meet on 10 July 2015. The individual grant agreements will then be prepared by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and signed with the project beneficiaries in the second half of 2015.

 

More information on the CEF projects, see:

 

·         List of projects proposed for funding: I, II;

·         Connecting Europe Facility (DG MOVE website);

·         INEA website, and

·         Fraunhofer Study on the cost of non-completion of the TEN-T

 

Reference: European Commission, Press release “Commission puts forward record €13,1 bln investment in transport infrastructure to boost jobs and growth”, Brussels, 29.06.2015. In:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5269_en.htm






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