The European Commission announced that EU member states approved the Commission’s proposal to invest €22.1 million in seven actions that will help develop sustainable and efficient transport and energy infrastructure.
They will receive funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), one of the key funding instruments of the EU’s Energy Union strategy to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level.
Transport Commissioner, Violeta Bulc, said: “European Transport still depends on oil for 94% of its energy needs. That is why the EU is investing in seven projects to speed up the deployment of alternative energy sources, with a special focus on electrification and multimodal transport.”
Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete added: “Enabling synergies between the transport and energy sectors will enhance the effectiveness of EU funding and will contribute to the further integration of the internal energy market. The successful conclusion of the first CEF synergy call is yet another milestone in the achievement of our long-term decarbonisation objectives”.
Four of the selected actions refer to the transport priorities “motorways of the sea”, “maritime ports” and “multimodal transport modes” with emphasis on the gas sector (EU funding of €8.8 million).
In addition, as prolonged exposure to excessive noise from construction and transport can affect the health of more than 100 million Europeans, the Commission focused on this, during conference, supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in Brussels.
Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said: “Environmental noise is a very real problem for millions of citizens. We have rules to protect them from excessive noise from construction andtransport, but Member States need to intensify their efforts to implement them to bring noise levels down towards recommended levels. We will help facilitate this through the new Environmental Implementation Review. Today’s conference is the starting point for a broader dialogue with all stakeholders to ensure we strike the right balance between the transport and construction we all depend on, and the healthy lives we want”.
Based on the latest data of the European Environmental Agency (EEA), including a new Commission report, conference participants will look at the root causes of noise and its effects. Together with Member States and stakeholders, the Commission said that will examine how to help improve the implementation of the Environmental Noise Directive and other instruments to tackle noise pollution.
