European Parliament endorses greater EU transport funding in long-term budget plans
The European Parliament has today adopted its preliminary position on the EU's next long-term budget post-2027.
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The Own-Initiative Report "On a revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world" calls for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to be bigger and bolder and highlights the importance of transport funding. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) welcomes the Report and the recognition by the European Parliament of the vital role transport plays in Europe's future growth and resilience.
Overall, the Parliament Report underlines that a larger, reinforced MFF is necessary to respond to EU ambitions and current challenges. The report encourages the Council to adopt new EU own resources as a matter of urgency in order to enable the repayment of past common borrowing and to provide adequate resources for all spending under the next MFF.
The Report stresses that the next MFF should build on the existing dedicated funding line for transport – the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). It calls for "much greater, directly managed funding for energy, transport and digital infrastructure, with priority given to cross-border connections and national links with European added value". This is very much in line with CER's appeals for the continuation of CEF and raises the hope that the European Parliament will be a strong advocate on this point.
CER further welcomes the Report's attention to funding for dual-use infrastructure and rolling stock, supports the impetus to implement the EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism and endorses Parliament's push to phase out all fossil fuel subsidies and other environmentally harmful subsidies in the next MFF.
The railway sector holds immense potential to transform the EU's connectivity, sustainability, and competitiveness. At the same time it faces significant investment challenges and has ambitious targets to meet in order to complete the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) – estimated at over EUR 500 billion for the Core Network alone – and develop its digital programme. Stable funding is a cornerstone for realising the major rail projects that can revolutionise European mobility and logistics.
CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola said: "CER thanks the European Parliament for today's insightful report on the EU's next long-term budget. The report makes it crystal clear that the Connecting Europe Facility must be continued and provided with adequate funding. We encourage the Commission to take up this position in the upcoming MFF proposal. This will be of essence if we want to provide, through the completion of the TEN-T network, pan-European sustainable mobility solutions to all citizens and businesses."
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