EU Parliament adopts upgraded CEF
EU Parliament adopts upgraded CEF
On Wednesday, 7th July 2021, the European Parliament adopted the upgraded Connecting Europe Facility programme and released new funds for transport, digital and energy projects for 2021-2027.
The upgraded Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme, agreed between Parliament and Council in March and worth €30 billion for 2021 to 2027, will fund transport, energy and digital projects with an EU added value. It will ensure that essential Trans-European projects, such as Rail Baltica, alternative fuels charging infrastructure and the roll out of 5G coverage to important transport axes are finished on schedule by 2030.
The CEF is structured around three pillars, with around €23 billion going to transport projects, €5 billion for energy projects and €2 billion for digital projects. Around €10 billion allocated to cross-border transport projects will come from Cohesion Funds and will help EU countries complete previously-identified missing transport links. €1.4 billion will be designated to fast track the completion of major missing cross border railway projects, to be selected by the Commission on a competitiveness basis