CLECAT CALLS FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE CEF TO BOOST EUROPEAN TRANSPORT
On 22 May, CLECAT submitted its response to the public consultation on the evaluation of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). This EU funding instrument has been key in building a robust and interconnected European transport sector, which is crucial for a competitive, net-zero, and resilient Europe.
CLECAT notes that despite significant progress, the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) remains incomplete, facing bottlenecks, missing links, and capacity limitations that hinder the full functioning of the EU internal market. A strong European transport network is vital for enhancing the EU's industrial competitiveness, cohesion, military mobility, securing the supply of critical raw materials, and ensuring supply chain sovereignty. In light of the growing geopolitical uncertainty and the accelerating impacts of climate change, targeted and well-coordinated transport investments are more important than ever to bolster Europe's crisis preparedness and resilience.
The CEF instrument has been pivotal in supporting this objective, but there is room for improvement. CLECAT’s submission proposes several measures to improve the application processes and CEF governance, ensuring more efficiency in delivering its core objectives. One of the key suggestions is to increase the visibility of the budget allocated for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), allowing stakeholders to plan their needs in advance and providing a stable financial environment to achieve policy objectives. Also, the frequency of calls, such as those for Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPA) funding, is appreciated but could be increased to meet the growing demand for infrastructure funding.
Improvements are also needed in the implementation of the programme by CINEA, notably on the need to provide further technical assistance to applicants when preparing their applications to project calls.
To address these issues, CLECAT, along with 44 other European transport organisations, signed a joint letter in March 2025 urging Member States and the European Commission to maintain and strengthen a dedicated European transport funding instrument in the next MFF. Interested stakeholders can still reply to the public consultation on the evaluation of CEF via this link until 28 May.