MEMBER STATES CALL FOR MORE EU FUNDING FOR TRANSPORT
On 11 February, eleven Member States, including Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Czechia, sent a letter to the European Commission calling for financial support to be prioritised for the development of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) in the next EU budget.
The signatories stressed that the successful implementation of the TEN-T revision depends on sufficient financial resources and new funding instruments. While acknowledging the role of the European Investment Bank, they underlined that EU co-financing is essential and should not be subject to excessive conditions. The letter echoed findings of the Letta and Draghi reports, highlighting that the lack of cross-border links is a significant obstacle to the proper functioning of the Internal Market and that delays in completing the TEN-T network would undermine the EU’s competitiveness.
Looking ahead to the next Multiannual Financial Framework, Member States stressed the importance of securing adequate EU co-financing for transport infrastructure projects. They called for a robust, centrally managed Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) with increased financial ambition to support the completion of major cross-border projects. Given the complexity of large-scale cross-border projects, the letter also emphasised that effective coordination and synchronised timelines between Member States are crucial to ensuring timely completion of the TEN-T network.
Source: Government of the Czech Republic