Brussels, 31/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 31 July, the European Commission adopted by written procedure the financing plan presented on 29 June in the framework of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) 2014-2020 to improve mobility, but also to give a boost to growth and employment in Europe (see EUROPE 11346).
At the end of last month, the Commission presented a plan for “record investments” of €13.1 billion, taken from the €24 million earmarked for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the period 2014-2020. These investments will co-fund 276 projects selected by the Commission, which hopes that this will allow it to mobilise a total of €28.8 billion (with public and private national investments on top).
The aim is, firstly, to speed up the networking of the various modes of transport in Europe and between the member states by the year 2030 and, secondly, to give a shot in the arm to the European economy and “create up to 10 million jobs and increase European GDP by 1.8% between now and 2030”, said the Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc. Initially, the Commission has opted to focus its investment efforts on projects of the central European network of the TEN-T, such as Rail Baltica and the Brenner base tunnel.
These massive investments follow on from the multi-annual working programme (MAP) presented by the Commission on 26 March 2014. On 1 September of the same year, a first call for proposals was published by the Commission, receiving more than 700 responses, equating to three times the amount of money available. It now remains for the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), which is responsible for implementing the TEN-T programmes, to draft individual subsidy agreements with the various beneficiaries by the end of this year.
It is worth noting that a considerable chunk of the investments - some €4.8 billion - has been set aside for the member states which qualify for the cohesion fund, the aim of which is to support member states with a gross national income (GNI) below EU average, with the aim of offsetting regional socio-economic disparities, but also to feed into green and sustainable growth. (Pascal Hansens)