EU opens applications for 2,5 billion euros in transport funding

A new round of applications has opened for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). This time, 2,5 billion euros is to be allocated for transport infrastructure in EU countries, as well as Ukraine and Moldova. With the investments, the EU looks to improve and expand the TEN-T network.

The funding can be used for railways, multimodal freight terminals, interoperable applications for transport and infrastructure resilience, as well as modalities other than rail.

Within the framework of CEF, almost 26 billion euros are available for grants from the EU’s 2021-2027 budget to fund TEN-T projects in EU Member States. Since 2014, the CEF programme has supported over 1,500 projects with more than 37 billion euros in the transport sector, according to the European Commission.

A record round of funding

In July of this year, the EU awarded a record 7 billion euros to transport projects from the Connecting Europe Facility. No less than 80 per cent went to rail, at 5,5 billion euros. At the time, the European Commission highlighted Rail Baltica, the Lyon-Turin railway and the Fehmarnbelt tunnel as major beneficiaries.