The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is the EU funding instrument for strategic investment in transport, energy and digital infrastructure. In the transport sector, CEF is dedicated to the implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and aims at supporting investments in cross-border connections, missing links as well as promoting sustainability and digitalisation.
During the period 2014-2020, CEF Transport has awarded EUR 23.2 billion in grants to co-finance projects of common interest, out of which EUR 11.3 billion was transferred from the Cohesion Fund.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) manages European Commission programmes contributing to decarbonisation and sustainable growth: CEF Programme, Horizon Europe, Innovation Fund, LIFE programme.
Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027
In July 2021, the Regulation establishing the CEF for the period 2021-2027 was adopted. The budget allocated to CEF transport, the key EU funding instrument to support investment in the area of transport infrastructure, amounts to EUR 25.8 billion. A total of EUR 11.3 billion are earmarked for countries eligible to receive support from the Cohesion Fund. CEF Transport also aims to ensure that when infrastructure is adapted to improve military mobility within the EU, it is dual-use compatible, meeting both civilian and military needs.
The priority is given to further development of the TEN-T, focusing on missing links and cross-border projects with an EU added value.
CEF Transport also supports innovation in the transport system to improve the use of infrastructure, reduce the environmental impact of transport, enhance energy efficiency and increase safety.
More than half of the budget has already been awarded to the projects in the 2021-2023 calls, including the standard CEF calls, military mobility calls and the AFIF rolling call.
Relevant documents
The objectives, budget, and the rules of the current CEF programme are set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 and, in more detail, in the CEF Work Programme 2021-2027, which was amended in July 2023.
Calls for proposals are based on the Work Programme, which outlines funding priorities and the total amount of financial support to be committed. Projects are formally selected following a competitive evaluation procedure.