EUROPE’s transport sector is calling for a significant increase in European Union (EU) funding for infrastructure projects, warning that underinvestment risks undermining the bloc’s competitiveness, resilience and efforts to tackle climate change.
In an open letter addressed to member states and the European Commission (EC), the heads of 45 transport organisations are urging policymakers to approve a substantially increased budget for transport in the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) or budget for 2028-2034. They argue that a modern, well-connected network is essential to maintaining the strength of the EU internal market and ensuring reliable links with global partners.
Central to this is a proposal to increase funding for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to at least €100bn. Signatories say that the programme has been consistently oversubscribed, leaving high-value cross-border rail and other infrastructure projects without sufficient support despite their strategic importance.
The appeal for increased funding comes as the latest round of discussions over MFF takes place during the General Affairs Council on February 24. The letter highlights mounting geopolitical tension, climate risks and supply-chain vulnerabilities as reasons to accelerate investment. It also stresses the need to upgrade infrastructure for dual civilian and military use, citing gaps identified in recent EU initiatives. According to the signatories, improved network resilience and redundancy are necessary to complement “just-in-time” logistics with contingency capacity.
Rail sector
For the rail sector, enhanced EU funding is considered critical to removing bottlenecks, completing missing cross-border links and enabling the modal shift required to meet decarbonisation targets. The signatories note that many large-scale transport projects deliver substantial societal benefits, but struggle to attract private finance without grant support.
The letter cites studies led by former Italian prime ministers, Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, which underline the importance of integrated transport networks for economic growth, industrial competitiveness and territorial cohesion.
Concluding, the organisations warn that Europe’s strategic ambitions - from net-zero transition to supply-chain security - depend on a robust transport backbone, and call on governments to reverse what they describe as a persistent funding shortfall.
“Completing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), with a fully interoperable rail system at its core, is increasingly essential for Europe’s civil, high-speed and regional, freight and military mobility,” says Alberto Mazzola, executive director of the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER), and one of the letter’s signatories.
“An ambitious transport budget is needed to match the ambitious TEN-T targets: the Core section of TEN-T alone is estimated at €500bn up to 2030, while the Comprehensive Network will require nearly €1.5 trillion, in addition to other transport investment needed up to 2050.”
