The new 2019 Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) transport call for proposals

POLIS attended the information session organised by the European Committee together with the European Commission's INEA and DG MOVE, who presented the political priorities of the 2019 call.

The CEF call focuses on projects on the more peripheral "comprehensive network" of the TEN-T. It is open until 24 April 2019 and allocates € 65 million to:

removing bottlenecks and bridging missing links;
works concerning cross-border infrastructure projects for railways, inland waterways and roads;
a better interconnection of national transport networks.

Both studies and works (or mixed proposals work/studies), accompanied by a Cost-Benefit Analysis are eligible.

Although urban nodes are not included in this call (38 projects were previously selected and have received a total of €204 million of EU grant support), they are concerned as origin and destination of these cross-border connections.

Moreover, there is a specific budget line about maritime ports of the TEN-T comprehensive network. Eligible interventions concern:

• Hinterlands connections – digital solutions for connectivity and infrastructure
• Port access
• Port infrastructure
• Reception facilities
• Implementation of new facilities & technologies.

This call is linked to the European Committee of the Region's missing links initiative which started in 2016 in a joint meeting with the European Parliament's TRAN Committee followed by the adoption of the CoR Opinion "Missing transport links in border regions".

For additional information please refer to the events' page in the CoR website: https://cor.europa.eu/en/events/Pages/CEF-transport-call-2019-info.aspx.