COUNCIL ADOPTS CONNECTING EUROPE FACILITY 2.0
On 14 June, the Council adopted in first reading the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility 2.0 (CEF 2.0) programme, worth €33.71 billion, to fund the development of high-performing, sustainable infrastructure in the fields of transport, digital and energy. This second edition of the programme will run from 2021 to 2027. Today’s vote by the Council will be followed by final adoption by the European Parliament.
The budgets for the transport sector will be €25.81 billion, including €11.29 billion for cohesion countries, in current prices. In the field of transport, CEF 2.0 will promote interconnected and multimodal networks in order to develop and modernise rail, road, inland waterway and maritime infrastructure, as well as ensuring safe and secure mobility. Priority will be given to further development of the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T), focusing on missing links and cross-border projects with an EU added value. €1.38 billion (in 2018 prices) of the transport budget will be used to finance major rail projects between cohesion countries. CEF 2.0 will also ensure that when infrastructure is adapted to improve military mobility within the EU, it is dual-use compatible, meeting both civilian and military needs. Military mobility will have a separate allocation of €1.69 billion within the transport budget.
CEF 2.0 emphasises synergies between the transport, energy and digital sectors as a way of making EU action more effective and minimising implementation costs. It shall promote cross-sectoral work in areas such as connected and automated mobility and alternative fuels. The programme also aims to mainstream climate action, taking into account the EU’s long-term decarbonisation commitments.
The legal act now needs to be adopted by the European Parliament at second reading before being published in the EU Official Journal. The Regulation will enter into force the day after its publication and apply retroactively from 1 January 2021.
Source: Council of the EU