Bruxelles, 10/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - All of the information on the first call for tenders under the Connecting Europe Facility destined for transport infrastructure was submitted to the principal interested parties in Brussels on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 October, in the framework of information days.
The 2014 vintage has put into play the record amount of €11.1 billion, to fund the infrastructure of the nine corridors which make up the trans-European transport network (TETN): “a solid call”, according to Dirk Beckers, executive director of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency, who is responsible for the selection of the projects to be funded. Before passing the floor to the experts to outline the procedures to take part in the call for tenders, European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas stressed that the funding would be granted to “the most competitive projects of common interest in terms of maturity and EU added value”. Emphasis will also be laid on greener modes of transport, such as railways and inland waterways, with exemptions for the countries which do not have networks of this kind, he added. The priority projects already listed have until 26 February to submit their requests for funding and the final selection will be announced next summer, “following a fully transparent selection procedure”, the Commissioner stressed. (MD)