>The European Commission has selected 94 transport projects to receive nearly €2∙8bn in Connecting Europe Facility grants, with the rail sector being the leading beneficiary.
>The grant awards announced on July 3 remain subject to formal ratification by the Commission’s infrastructure and networks agency, CINEA, with confirmation of the final awards to come in October. Nevertheless, rail transport will receive the largest share of the funding, 77% of the total, with investment directed towards enhancements across the TEN-T core and extended networks, particularly in cohesion countries. These include the construction of Rail Baltica in the Baltic region and Poland, and improvements in Greece and Slovakia. High speed rail projects in the Czech Republic and the CPK programme in Poland will also benefit.
>A further 32 projects in 11 member states including Austria, Germany, Italy and Poland will receive allocations to support the roll-out of ERTMS, with investment in onboard equipment and wayside ETCS equipment both supported.
>The 94 projects have been selected from a pool of 258 applications submitted under a call for proposals which closed on January 21 2025.
#CEF future in doubt
>The funding awards come amid an increasingly high-profile debate over the future of CEF, which since its establishment in 2014 has disbursed €47bn in grants for the transport sector covering 1 861 projects, with rail a major beneficiary.
>With Denmark taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Poland on July 1, rail supply trade association UNIFE wrote an open letter to the Danish government at the end of June asking it to ‘ensure vital and required funding [for] programmes such as the successors of Connecting Europe Facility, Horizon Europe, and the new Competitiveness Fund, which can be used to modernise the EU rail network, and to implement modern signalling technologies as demand for rail increases’.
>The Danish presidency will lead budget negotiations for the next six months after the draft EU Multiannual Financial Framework is released by the European Commission, due by the end of July. Railway Gazette International understands that CEF may not continue in its current form, and there are clear concerns among rail advocates in Brussels about transport funding suffering as pressure mounts to boost defence spending across member states in response to the current geopolitical challenges.
>’Public budgets are about choice. By choosing investment in rail in these upcoming negotiations, the EU institutions can take a big step forward in cutting transport emissions, boosting commerce and protecting Europe’, says UNIFE Director-General Enno Wiebe.
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>The European Commission has selected 94 transport projects to receive nearly €2∙8bn in Connecting Europe Facility grants, with the rail sector being the leading beneficiary.
>The grant awards announced on July 3 remain subject to formal ratification by the Commission’s infrastructure and networks agency, CINEA, with confirmation of the final awards to come in October. Nevertheless, rail transport will receive the largest share of the funding, 77% of the total, with investment directed towards enhancements across the TEN-T core and extended networks, particularly in cohesion countries. These include the construction of Rail Baltica in the Baltic region and Poland, and improvements in Greece and Slovakia. High speed rail projects in the Czech Republic and the CPK programme in Poland will also benefit.
>A further 32 projects in 11 member states including Austria, Germany, Italy and Poland will receive allocations to support the roll-out of ERTMS, with investment in onboard equipment and wayside ETCS equipment both supported.
>The 94 projects have been selected from a pool of 258 applications submitted under a call for proposals which closed on January 21 2025.
#CEF future in doubt
>The funding awards come amid an increasingly high-profile debate over the future of CEF, which since its establishment in 2014 has disbursed €47bn in grants for the transport sector covering 1 861 projects, with rail a major beneficiary.
>With Denmark taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Poland on July 1, rail supply trade association UNIFE wrote an open letter to the Danish government at the end of June asking it to ‘ensure vital and required funding [for] programmes such as the successors of Connecting Europe Facility, Horizon Europe, and the new Competitiveness Fund, which can be used to modernise the EU rail network, and to implement modern signalling technologies as demand for rail increases’.
>The Danish presidency will lead budget negotiations for the next six months after the draft EU Multiannual Financial Framework is released by the European Commission, due by the end of July. Railway Gazette International understands that CEF may not continue in its current form, and there are clear concerns among rail advocates in Brussels about transport funding suffering as pressure mounts to boost defence spending across member states in response to the current geopolitical challenges.
>’Public budgets are about choice. By choosing investment in rail in these upcoming negotiations, the EU institutions can take a big step forward in cutting transport emissions, boosting commerce and protecting Europe’, says UNIFE Director-General Enno Wiebe.