The European Commission has recently announced that Member States have until 26 February 2015 to bid for €11.9 billion of funding out of €26 billion earmarked for improving transport connections across the continent, the largest ever single amount of EU funding for transport infrastructure.
Commission Vice President Siim Kallas said that this first tranche of funding will be allocated to projects that make journeys quicker, smoother and less congested across all member nations.
He said, “Transport is fundamental to an efficient European economy, so investing in transport connections to fuel the economic recovery is more important than ever. Areas of Europe without good transport connections are not going to grow or prosper. Member States need to seize this opportunity to bid for funding to be better connected, more competitive and provide smoother and quicker journeys for citizens and businesses.”
The Commission has pinpointed nine areas of focus to be set up by 2030. The network will improve connections between 94 European ports, 38 important airports and 35 cross-border projects it has identified as bottleneck zones.
From a UK perspective, the EU has highlighted improvements and developments from the North Sea to the Mediterranean as key to achieving its plan.
It hopes that the UK and Ireland can improve connections to France and Benelux, and through to the Mediterranean, while funding transport projects that will develop the infrastructure between the British Isles and Continental Europe.
The Commission hopes its new core TEN-T network will be supported by a network of routes feeding into the core regional and national infrastructure, and by 2050, the great majority of Europe’s citizens and businesses will be no more than 30 minutes’ travel time from this comprehensive network.
