Mechanism to connect Europe

20,73 billion (12.83 transportation, 5.84 energy, 2.06 digital)

Investment in cross-border infrastructure on transport, energy and digital

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DG / Responsible Agencies:MOVE | ENER | CNET | CINEA | HADEA

Potential beneficiaries

Companies, SMEs, research organizations, public and private entities active in the field of transportation, energy and digital networks.

Description and objectives

The Connecting Europe Facility (also known as Connecting Europe Facility or CEF) aims to accelerate investment in networks and build a modern, high-performance multimodal infrastructure to connect and integrate the Union and all its regions in the key areas of transport, energy and digital.

It is a priority both to foster cohesion and integration of Europe’s territories (with particular reference to cross-border connections) and to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, stimulate job creation, make Europe more competitive in global challenges, and enable the achievement of zero emissions by 2050. The program thus supports the dual green and digital transition, contributing to the ambitious goals of the “European Green Deal” and the “Digital Decade.”

The Connecting Europe Facility pursues the following objectives:

In the field of transportation:

• Contribute to the development of an efficient, interconnected and multimodal Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and smart, interoperable, sustainable, inclusive, accessible, safe and secure mobility infrastructure;
• Adapting parts of the TEN-T infrastructure for dual use, improving both civilian and military mobility.

In the field ofenergy:

• Contribute to the further integration of an efficient and competitive internal energy market;
• Support the interoperability of cross-border and sectoral networks and cross-border cooperation;
• Promote decarbonization of the economy, energy efficiency and security of supply;
• Facilitate cross-border cooperation in renewable energy.

In the digital:

• Contribute to the deployment of secure, ultra-high-capacity digital networks and 5G systems;
• Support increased resilience and capacity of digital backbone networks on EU territories by connecting them to neighboring territories;
• Promoting the digitization of transportation and energy networks.

Types of actions and projects

The Connecting Europe Facility is implemented through a combination of grants, procurement and financial instruments. The program mainly provides financial support in the form of grants, with different co-financing rates depending on the type of project, for infrastructure needed by the three sectors of transport, energy and digital. Funds studies and works in these areas throughout the EU and some neighboring countries, with priority given to works and projects of greatest common interest to the EU (European added value), particularly those that complete missing cross-border links, remove bottlenecks, or implement EU-wide systems. More specifically:

• In the field of transportation, contributes to projects of common interest related to the completion of the TEN-T network and its modernization, through the creation of new infrastructure and the modernization of existing infrastructure; promotes the application of new technologies (telematics applications, alternative fuels, etc.) to the transport sector, particularly to promote the interoperability, safety, resilience and accessibility of transport infrastructure (Sustainable and Intelligent Mobility Strategy);
• In the energy, contributes to projects of common interest, highlighting the enabling role of energy infrastructure for the transition to climate neutrality, integration of European energy markets, and network interoperability. The program includes a new category of cross-border projects for creating cost-effective conditions for maximum deployment of renewable energy;

For the digital, it aims to ensure uninterrupted coverage with 5G systems along major communication routes, implementation of new or significant upgrades to existing communication backbone networks, and deployment of and access to ultra-high-capacity networks.

Highlights

The Connecting Europe Facility is in continuity with its predecessor program 2014-2020, particularly for the transport and energy sectors, while focusing on new priority actions. On the digital side, however, the program will represent a step change in the scope, volume and intensity of support proposed by the EU, complementary to new programs such as Digital Europe.