05/12/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 5 December, the European Union announced that it had invested a further €142 million in 21 connectivity projects, in particular submarine cables, which are essential for global telecommunications traffic (98% of global traffic transits through them), as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). These projects aim to “modernise existing infrastructures, deploy secure technologies and strengthen the EU’s digital resilience”. The cables financed include geographical sensors and warning systems to protect these critical infrastructures. This investment brings total funding for the backbone cables between 2021 and 2023 to €420 million. The new 2024-2027 programme provides for an additional €542 million, bringing the overall effort to almost €1 billion. A fourth series of calls for projects is open until February 2025. (IS)