The European Commission has selected 107 transport infrastructure projects, which will receive over €6 billion in EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s instrument for strategic investment in transport infrastructure.
More than 80% of the funding will go to projects aimed at building a more efficient, greener and smarter network of railways, inland waterways and maritime routes along the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). The projects will also strengthen the EU-Ukraine solidarity corridors, established to facilitate Ukrainian exports and imports.
The main cross-border rail connections along the TEN-T core network were also among the priorities for funding: these include in particular the Brenner Base Tunnel, which connects Italy and Austria, Rail Baltica, which connects the 3 Baltic republics and Poland to the rest of Europe, and the cross-border section between Germany and the Netherlands (Emmerich-Oberhausen).
Several seaports in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland will receive funding to develop shore-based power supply to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from berthed vessels.
Infrastructure along the Seine-Scheldt cross-border waterways between France and Belgium will be modernized to help prepare inland waterway transport for future needs. The inland ports of the Danube and Rhine basins, such as Vienna and Andernach, will also be modernized.
To further increase the safety and interoperability of EU rail transport, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will be installed on trains and railway lines in Czechia, Denmark, Germany, France, Austria and Slovakia.
Some EU Member States will install intelligent transport systems and services, in particular cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) for safer and more efficient transport, on the road network. Some Member States will receive support for European air traffic management projects to increase the efficiency of aviation and create a single European sky.