The European Commission selected 94 transport projects to receive nearly €2.8 billion in EU grants under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). By modernising railways, inland waterways and maritime routes across the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), the projects will not only help better connect European regions and cities – north to south, east to west, but also make the EU's internal market more competitive, and more resilient.
Greener ports and increased resilience
The EU is investing in a range of projects to reduce the environmental impact of maritime and inland waterway transport. This includes upgrading ports in Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, and Poland with shore-side electricity to reduce emissions from ships at berth. Support will also go to the construction and upgrading of multi-purpose icebreakers in Estonia, Finland and Sweden to strengthen the security and resilience of submarine cables, in line with the EU's recent action plan. In France and Spain, digital traffic management systems will be deployed to improve the safety and efficiency of short-sea shipping, and reduce congestion.
For inland waterways, France will see upgrades along the Rhine, while digitalisation of waterborne transport will be advanced in Belgium.