ESPO calls on the European Parliament and the Member States to support the transport budget proposal under the new CEF
The Commission proposal for the Multi Annual Financial Framework 2021-2027 adopted on Wednesday 2 May reserves a similar budget for the Connecting Europe Facility, the financial instrument for Transport, in the current financial period. The proposal foresees 12,8 billion EUR under the general envelope, 11,3 billion EUR for transport projects in Cohesion countries and a new envelope of 6,5 billion EUR for investments in transport infrastructure for dual civilian-military use, ESPO said in its press release.
For ESPO, the allocation within the MFF proposal clearly shows the support of CEF as a financial instrument and proves that the Commission, and in particular the Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger, is recognising the high added value of transport investments in terms of growth, jobs and sustainability.
While the MFF budget proposal is received positively, European ports believe a lot will nevertheless depend on the concrete layout of the new Connecting Europe Facility proposal due to come out on 6th June. It also remains to be seen how the new military component, which receives a substantial part of the CEF transport budget, will serve the actual investment needs of ports.
A study, commissioned by the European Sea Ports Organisation investigating the future investment needs of European ports, estimates that European ports face investment needs of around 48 € billion for the period 2018-2027. It also shows that port authorities have only been able to obtain 4 percent of the grant envelope over the last four years.
ESPO is looking forward to discuss the European budget and the forthcoming CEF proposal with the responsible DG MOVE Director Herald Ruijters, the European Parliament and the TEN-T Coordinators at its upcoming Conference in Rotterdam, on 31 May and 1 June.
