Facts & context
Sub-topic

The EU budget is crucial to translate EU Members States’ political priorities into concrete programmes and activities. The European Union forecasts its budget for periods of five years under the so-called ‘Multiannual Financial Framework’ (MFF).

Since the Covid-19 crisis, the MFF and its related financial instruments are complemented by a Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on national economies. 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is part of the MFF and the main funding instrument for rail infrastructure projects in Europe. It provides the financial support for the completion of the TEN-T Network. An agreement on the CEF for 2021-2027 (CEF 2.0) was reached in March 2021. 

In 2023, EIM informed its members about the results of the CEF calls under the general and the military mobility budget envelope.

EIM in action (involvement and goals)
Sub-topic

• EIM advocates increased EU funding for rail infrastructure managers to meet the increasing standards of the TEN-T Network and the development of the future rail capacity management system. 
• EIM maintains a constructive dialogue with the EU regarding the transport budget in general and the rail infrastructure budget in particular. 
• EIM highlights the importance of financial support for digital rail infrastructure, in particular ERTMS but also 5G as well as innovation through the Joint Undertaking for Research and Innovation, “Europe’s Rail”.