The European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Industry Committee voted to raise the general envelope of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) transport budget by €7bn to €33.51bn.
After the European Parliament adopted the EU’s long-term budget (Multiannual Financial Framework – MFF 2021-2027), the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee and the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee established their priorities for funding of transport, energy and telecommunication projects.
The two Committees agreed to increase the budget by almost €6bn compared to the Commission’s proposal. The new CEF transport funds will go towards the completion of the TEN-T corridor, to improve connectivity and accessibility across Europe.
Rapporteur Henna Virkkunen (EPP, FI) stated:
In the new CEF 2.0 we are looking for more synergies between the transport, energy and digital sectors. Taking into account the new climate targets, 60% of CEF funding should invest in projects contributing to climate actions
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
An important new element in CEF 2.0 is the introduction of cross-border renewable projects. Namely, actions to improve access to very high-capacity networks will be crucial, providing gigabit connectivity, including 5G.
The European Commission has also proposed to include an envelope for military mobility in the transport budget. This aims to strengthen cyber security resilience and civil protection.
ESPO appreciated the recognition of the cross-border importance of port projects. These projects can have a significant cross-border impact, as they improve connectivity on the sea side, or in the hinterland.
However, ESPO is still worried over the priorities listed in the Annex. Specifically, both Motorways of the Sea (MoS), as well as all maritime and port projects, have been exxluded from the listed priorities.
ESPO Secretary-General Isabelle Ryckbost, noted on this aspect:
We hope a solution can be found with the Council, which gives the necessary importance to Motorways of the Sea. In the last 3 years only 4 % of the budget was spent on port projects, whereas 95% of world trade goes over sea and 70% of rail freight is coming from the ports
In addition, ESPO believes that the TEN-T network, along with the ports and land-based transport, are ‘fundamentally important for the connectivity within Europe and with third countries.’ For this reason, it called that their importance should be better reflected by the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027.
The European Parliament will now vote on December, while the negotiations between Council and Parliament are expected to start in the beginning of 2019.
