Independent journal on economy and transport policy
16:14 GMT+2
CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE STUDI CONTAINERS
ANNO XXXVIII - Numero LUGLIO 2020
LEGISLATION
BOOSTING THE EU'S GREEN RECOVERY: EU INVESTS OVER €2
BILLION IN 140 KEY TRANSPORT PROJECTS TO JUMP-START THE ECONOMY
The EU is supporting the economic recovery in all Member States
by injecting almost €2.2 billion into 140 key transport
projects. These projects will help build missing transport links
across the continent, support sustainable transport and create jobs.
The projects will receive funding through the Connecting
Europe Facility (CEF), the EU's grant scheme supporting
transport infrastructure.
With this budget, the EU will deliver on its climate objectives
set out in the European Green Deal. A very strong emphasis is on
projects reinforcing railways, including cross-border links and
connections to ports and airports. Inland waterway transport is
boosted through more capacity and better multimodal connections to
the road and rail networks. In the maritime sector, priority is
given to short-sea-shipping projects based on alternative fuels and
the installation of on-shore power supply for ports to cut emissions
from docked ships.
Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean said: "The €2.2
billion EU contribution to this crucial transport infrastructure
will help kick-start the recovery, and we expect it to generate €5
billion in investments. The type of projects we invest in ranges
from inland waterways transport to multimodal connections,
alternative fuels to massive railroad infrastructure. The Connecting
Europe Facility (CEF) is one of our key instruments in creating a
crisis-proof and resilient transport system - vital now and in the
long run."
The EU will support rail infrastructure projects located on the
trans-European
transport (TEN-T) core network with a total of €1.6 billion
(55 projects). This includes the Rail Baltica project, which
integrates the Baltic States in the European rail network, as well
as the cross-border section of the railway line between Dresden
(Germany) and Prague (Czechia).
It will also support the shift to greener fuels for transport
(19 projects) with almost €142 million. A number of projects
involve converting vessels so they may run on Liquefied Natural Gas
(LNG), as well as installing corresponding infrastructure in ports.
Road transport will also see the deployment of alternative fuels
infrastructure, namely through the installation of 17,275 charging
points on the road network and the deployment of 355 new buses.
Nine projects will contribute to an interoperable railway system
in the EU and the seamless operation of trains across the continent
through the European
Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), Upgrading locomotives
and railway track to the unified European train control system will
boost safety, decrease travel times and optimise track usage. The
nine projects will receive over €49.8 million.
Background
The projects were selected for funding via two competitive calls
for proposals launched in October 2019 (regular CEF Transport call)
and November 2019 (CEF Transport Blending Facility call). The EU's
financial contribution comes in the form of grants, with different
cofinancing rates depending on the project type. For 10 projects
selected under the Blending Facility, EU support is to be combined
with additional financing from banks (via a loan, debt, equity or
any other repayable form of support).
Overall, under the CEF programme, €23.2 billion is
available for grants from the EU's 2014-2020 budget to co-fund
Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)
projects in the EU Member States. Since 2014, the first CEF
programming year, six calls for project proposals have been launched
(one per year). In total, CEF has so far supported 794 projects in
the transport sector, worth a total of €21.1 billion.
Next steps
For both calls, given EU Member States' approval of the selected
projects, the Commission will adopt formal financing decisions in
the coming days. The Commission's Innovation and Networks Executive
Agency (INEA) will sign the
grant agreements with the project beneficiaries at the latest by
January 2021.
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Editor in chief: Bruno Bellio No part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher
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