Brussels, 06/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 5 December, the EU Council of Ministers endorsed new maps and guidelines for the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T), marking a turning point in the development of infrastructure in Europe (see EUROPE 10945 and 10966).
The new TEN-T divides Europe into nine multi-model transport corridors, each covering at least three member states, two border crossings and three modes of transport. They are the backbone of the TEN-T to be established by 2030, which will then expand into the whole of Europe by 2050. Along with endorsing the new guidelines, the Council of Ministers agreed on a list of priority projects already selected in the member states as potentially eligible for EU funding. A budget of €26 billion has been earmarked at present prices from the EU budget for 2014-2020 under the Connecting Europe Facility, €1.1 billion of which will come from the cohesion fund. The budget was given the go-ahead by ministers on the same day. Over the next seven years, the mechanism will finance energy infrastructure to the tune of €5.8 billion and telecoms infrastructure to the value of €1.1 billion. The financed projects will need to have European value-added and cover cross-border stretches of the TEN-Ts. (MD/transl.fl)