CEF Transport: €2.5 billion available for infrastructure projects across the EU

CINEA launched the 2024 calls for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport, making €2.5 billion available to build and modernise transport infrastructure in the EU and the CEF associated countries of Ukraine and Moldova. 

The projects to be funded will contribute to extend and modernise the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). They will lead to more sustainable, smart, interoperable and resilient mobility across the TEN-T. In this way, CEF Transport will continue to contribute to the EU objective to become climate neutral by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.

The 2024 CEF Transport calls covers the core, extended core and comprehensive TEN-T network, pursuant to the new TEN-T Regulation (Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1679), in the following areas: 

• railways
• inland waterways
• maritime and inland ports
• road safety
• multimodal freight terminals
• multimodal passenger hubs
• smart and interoperable applications for transport
• safe and secure mobility
• infrastructure resilience

The online info day will take place on 2 October 2024 and will guide applicants through the calls, application procedure, evaluation processes, and award criteria.

Who can apply?

Applications are welcome from:

• One or more Member State(s);
• International organisations or public or private bodies established in an EU Member State or countries associated to CEF (Ukraine and Moldova).

Applicants should submit their proposal electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal, at the latest by 21 January 2025 at 17.00 CET (Brussels time).

Next steps

Proposals will be evaluated by independent external experts, the European Commission, and CINEA. Applicants will receive the evaluation results no more than six months after the submission deadline, and grant agreements for successful projects will be signed within nine months after the submission deadline.

Experts can still register as Commission evaluators of proposals by signing up via the Participant Portal and sending an e-mail to CINEA-CEF-Transportec [dot] europa [dot] eu (CINEA-CEF-Transport[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu).

Background

The EU needs an efficient and interconnected multimodal transport system for passengers and freight. This involves developing an affordable, reliable, and efficient rail network, improving inland waterways and maritime port infrastructure, achieving better integration between transport modes, and enhancing automation and interoperability to boost the transport network’s efficiency and safety.

The CEF Transport programme is the key EU funding instrument for the development of high performing, sustainable and interconnected Trans-European transport networks, with a focus on the nine Core Network Corridors and two horizontal priorities. The programme co-finances projects that enhance multimodality, improve infrastructure, and advance innovation and new technologies.

Under the CEF programme, €25.8 billion is available for grants from the EU’s 2021-2027 budget to co-fund Trans-European Transport Network projects in EU Member States. Since 2014 the CEF programme has supported over 1,500 projects with a total of €37.37 billion in the transport sector.

The call for proposals supports projects under the General and Cohesion envelopes of the CEF Transport programme. CINEA manages the promotion and evaluation of the call and supervises the implementation of projects.