Proposal for a regulation establishing the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027

In “A Europe Fit for the Digital Age”

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As part of the next long-term EU budget (MFF 2021-2027), the European Commission proposed to renew the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a funding programme that supports the development of transport, energy and digital infrastructure within trans-European networks.

For the period 2021-2027, the Commission proposed the total budget of €31.7 billion (all amounts: commitments, in constant 2018 prices, for EU-27 countries) to support infrastructure projects connecting regions within the EU (the trans-European networks), in particular cross-border ones with high added value. The proposal seeks better integrate the transport, energy and digital sectors, and to help achieve EU climate objectives. It should also support jobs, economic growth and the deployment of new technologies.

In transport, the focus shifts to decarbonisation and making transport connected, sustainable, inclusive, safe and secure. As in the first CEF, the proposal contained a general transport envelope of €11.4 billion and €10 billion earmarked in the Cohesion fund, to be implemented under the CEF on projects in EU countries eligible for cohesion funding. An additional €5.8 billion, earmarked in the security and defence budget, were also to be implemented under the CEF, to adapt parts of the transport network to enable dual civilian-military use.

The energy budget of €7.7 billion should help the transition towards clean energy and complete the Energy Union, making the EU energy systems more interconnected, smarter and digitalised. The focus is on cross-border renewable energy projects, interoperability of networks and better integration of the internal energy market.

The digital envelope of €2.7 billion should improve digital connectivity by creating very high capacity broadband networks as a basis for better digital services. It could finance projects that aim at providing 5G networks along important transport axes, Gigabit connectivity to institutions like hospitals or schools, and wireless connectivity to local communities.

In June 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to revise its goals on the transport pillar of the CEF 2021-2027 upwards.

In the Parliament, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) are jointly leading the file (rule 55). Rapporteurs are Jean-Marian Marinescu (EPP, Romania), Henna Virkkunen (EPP, Finland) and Pavel Telička (ALDE, Czech Republic).

After the Parliament has agreed its position on the overall EU multiannual financial framework, the TRAN and ITRE Committees adopted the joint legislative report on 22 November 2018. It called on the Commission to increase the CEF budget against the initial proposal. MEPs wanted the CEF fund to receive €43.85bn, with €33.51bn for transport, including the envisaged transfer from the Cohesion Fund.

The Parliament adopted its position for negotiations with the Council on 12 December 2018. In addition, on 11 December 2018, the Parliament adopted a resolution on military mobility, prepared by the AFET Committee (rapporteur: Tunne Kelam, EPP, Estonia) which is part of the proposed CEF.

The transport Council of 3 December 2018 agreed a partial general approach, excluding the financial and horizontal issues. Interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) concluded on 8 March 2019 with a partial provisional agreement, leaving the budget section open.

The partial provisional agreement was approved by Coreper on 14 March 2019 and endorsed by Parliament's TRAN and ITRE committees (meeting jointly) on 25 March 2019. The text was adopted by the full Parliament at first reading on 17 April 2019, with all remaining issues are to be agreed at the second-reading stage. On 4 December 2019, the EP TRAN Committee decided to open inter-institutional negotiations with the Council, with Dominique Riquet (Renew, France) joining the co-rapporteurs team. 

In reaction to the coronavirus pandemics, the Commission published the adjusted Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) proposal on 27 May 2020. The adjusted amounts proposed: transport €12.9 bn (+ €1.5 bn), energy €5.2 bn (- €2.5 bn), digital €1.8 bn (- €0.9 bn), military mobility €1.5 bn (- €4.3 bn), while the contribution from the Cohesion Fund remains at €10bn. The Commission specified that the increase in the transport envelope should be used to finance high-performance transport infrastructure to facilitate cross-border connections.

The July special European Council meeting modified the amounts to be allocated to the programme as follows: transport €11.4 bn (plus the transfer of €10 bn from the Cohesion Fund) out of which €1.4 bn for the missing major cross-border railway links between cohesion countries; energy €5.2 bn and digital €1.8 bn.

The Parliament welcomed the deal with a resolution on 23 July as a positive step, but regretted, among others, the cuts in grant components (such as the CEF), announcing that it will withhold its consent until a better arrangement is found. It also opposed the prior ring-fencing of funds to any projects.

On 11 March 2021, the Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the new CEF, along the lines of the July 2020 European Council. It was confirmed by COREPER on 24 March and by Parliament's TRAN and ITRE committees on 15 April 2021.

The new CEF will support key infrastructure projects with about €30 billion (constant 2018 prices). This amount will be split among transport (€22.9 billion), energy (€5.2 billion) and digital networks (€1.8 billion).

The Council confirmed the agreement on 14 June 2021. The TRAN and ITRE committees approved it with a vote on 24 June 2021.

The final act was adopted in second reading by the Parliament plenary on 7 July 2021 and signed on the same day.

It was published in the EU Official Journal on 14 July 2021, entered in force on the same day and applies retroactively since 1 January 2021.

 

 

 

References:

Further reading:

Author: Monika Kiss, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/03/2024.