The European Commission has opened on 8 February the 2017 CEF Transport calls for proposals that makes EUR 1 billion of funding available for projects of common interest in the transport sector aiming at maximising the leverage of private involvement and capital in the delivery of CEF Transport projects.
The call will have two deadlines for submission of proposals, the first one on 14 July 2017and the second one on 30 November 2017.
For the first time, this call for proposals of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will require the combination of grants with financing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the European Investment Bank, National Promotional Banks or private sector investors. In order to receive CEF support, applicants will be asked to show evidence of the projects’ financial readiness to obtain complementary funding from public or private financing institutions.
Selected projects must contribute to sustainable, innovative and seamless transportation along the Trans-European Transport Network. Particular emphasis will be placed on projects removing bottlenecks, supporting cross-border links and accelerating the digitalisation of transport, especially in areas with higher potential and market gaps such as in Cohesion countries, sustainable and efficient transport systems, and enhancing inter-modality and inter-operability in the transport network. This includes new technologies and traffic management systems such as the European Railway Traffic Management System, Intelligent Transport Systems for roads or the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research Programme.
“Achieving our vision for seamless, intelligent and sustainable mobility in Europe requires investments that public funds alone cannot provide. That is why we are launching an innovative solution to make the best of our resources, and unlock untapped private investments, with particular focus on Cohesion countries. Today’s action is a sign of solidarity on the move,” Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said.
Under the CEF, EUR 24.05 billion will be made available from the EU’s 2014-2020 budget to co-fund TEN-T projects of common interest in the EU Member States. Of these, EUR 19.3 billion have so far been legally committed.
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