On Wednesday 16 October, the European Commission announced that 1.6 billion Euros of EU co-funding will be granted to trans-Euroepan transport network (TEN-T) projects. In total, 172 projects were selected by the Commission and funding will be made available for 83 projects from the 2012 Annual programme call (€247.20 million) and for 89 projects from the 2012 Multi-annual programme call (€1.348 billion).

Of the 89 projects selected from the 2012 Mutli-Annual programme call, 13 are Motorways of the Sea (MOS) projects with €169.37 million in funding. Projects to be co-financed include the ports of Antwerp, Hamburg, Rouen, Barcelona, and Gdansk. Moreover, 14 European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) projects were selected with €68.33 million in funding; 3 Air Traffic Management (ATM) projects were selected with €58.8 million in funding; 2 Intelligent Transport Systems/European Electronic Toll System (ITS/EETS) projects were selected with €3.58 million in funding and finally 53 Priority Projects (PPs) were selected with €1.044 billion in funding.

The funding earmarked for projects of the 2012 Annual programme call will be granted to projects in four main priority areas: Acceleration/facilitation of the implementation of TEN-T projects, measures to promote innovation and new technologies for transport infrastructure, support to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and innovative financial instruments and the long term implementation of the TEN-T.

Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, noted: "Trans-European networks in transport are some of the best examples of the value the EU can bring to its Member States. A well-functioning network is essential to the smooth operation of the single market and will boost competitiveness. These projects will also assist Europe in moving to a more sustainable future and allow the same market access to all our regions."

The European Commission press release is available here.

The Commission’s announcement coincides with the TEN-T Days 2013, which take place in Talinn, Estonia. More information can be found here. In the context of the TEN-T Days 2013, the list of Core Network Corridors was published in the context of the TEN-T Days 2013. ECSA welcomes the fact that maritime ports feature prominently in all of the 9 corridors. The list, along with a description of the various projects linked to each corridor can be found here.