A total of 135 transport infrastructure projects have been selected for EU grants totalling €5.4bn, and they include three Irish projects led by Donegal County Council, Wexford County Council and Iarnród Éireann, all of who are to receive more than €6.2m in funding.
Ireland is also a co-applicant in four other projects selected for funding including one led by the Future Mobility Campus Ireland. The funding will support post-pandemic economic recovery in all EU member states while also contributing to the construction of missing transport links across the continent, supporting sustainable transport, improving safety and interoperability, and creating jobs.
Trans-European Transport Network
The projects selected for support all lie on the Trans-European Transport Network, the system of roads, railways, inland waterways, short-sea shipping routes, ports and airports that links the EU’s Member States and beyond.
The commission’s objective is to complete the TEN-T core network by 2030 and the comprehensive network by 2050, while also ensuring that its infrastructure helps the EU deliver its climate objectives, as set out in the European Green Deal.
EU transport commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean said: “Today we are allocating €5.4 billion to projects across Europe that will improve missing infrastructure links, make transport more sustainable and efficient, increase safety and interoperability, as well as create jobs.
"These challenging times have reinforced the importance of our EU transport sector and of having a seamless, well connected infrastructure network. In particular projects such as the upgrade of the rail-road transhipment terminal in Haniska pri Košicich will further facilitate our links with Ukraine.”
'Sustainable, green, safe and smart transport system'
Her comments were echoed by the director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), Dirk Beckers: “The European Union is once more investing in the future of its citizens by supporting the creation of a sustainable, green, safe and smart transport system.
"The projects that we have selected, which cover all modes of transport across member states, will help boost the EU’s post Covid-19 pandemic recovery by injecting billions into the real economy and guarantee a next generation transport infrastructure for our businesses and citizens.”
Several projects will boost the EU’s railway network, including cross-border links and connections to ports and airports. Rail infrastructure projects located on the TEN-T Core Network and selected for funding include the Fehmarn Belt tunnel, which will link Denmark and Germany.
Another key project will upgrade the existing rail-road transhipment terminal in Haniska pri Košicich near the city of Košice in Slovakia. The upgrade will make it easier to move freight between rail and road, and to adapt the railway gauge so that trains built to use gauges of a different width, including that used in Ukraine, can be accommodated.
Other projects will reinforce maritime navigation through the upgrading of basic port infrastructure and the installation of on-shore power supply. Ports will then be in a position to help docked ships reduce their emissions.
Projects to improve inland waterway transport include the Seine-Scheldt cross-border waterway connection, which will help create a cross-border inland waterway connection between France and Belgium.
Rolling out Intelligent Transport Systems on certain sections of the road network will improve road safety and create secure and safe parking infrastructure for heavy goods vehicles in Spain, Romania, France, Hungary and Italy.
For smart, interoperable and safer railway services, several projects will digitalise operations across Europe through the European Rail Traffic Management System. A series of pilot Digital European Sky Demonstrators in green aviation and urban air mobility will support air transport.
Background
In total, 399 applications were submitted under the CEF Transport calls that closed on January 19, 2022. Following the evaluation, 135 proposals were selected and retained for CEF funding, amounting to about €5.4bn. These numbers do not include the Alternative Fuels and Military Mobility calls, which have been launched at the same time but evaluated separately.
Under the CEF Transport programme for the period 2021-2027, €25.8bn are available for grants to co-fund TEN-T projects in the EU member states. Since 2014, CEF has supported more than 1030 projects for a total amount of €23bn in the transport sector.
The EU contribution will take the form of grants co-financing the total project costs.