The European Parliament adopted by 434 votes to 134, with 37 abstentions, amendments to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014.
The issue was referred back to the committee for interinstitutional negotiations.
The main amendments adopted in plenary concern the following points:
Objectives
The proposed Regulation seeks to establish the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2.0) for the period 2021-2027 in order to build, develop and modernise the trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital and to facilitate cross-border cooperation in the field of renewable energy.
The objectives of the CEF aim to contribute to increasing European competitiveness, access to internal market, to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and to consolidate territorial, social and economic cohesion.
According to the draft legislative act, the Programme has the following specific objectives:
In the transport sector:
- contribute to the development of projects of common interest relating to efficient, interconnected, interoperable and multimodal networks and infrastructure for smart, sustainable, inclusive, accessible, safe and secure mobility and European transport area;
- adapt the parts of the trans-European transport network suitable for military transport to dual (civilian and defence) mobility needs.
In the energy sector:
- contribute to the development of projects of common interest relating to further integration of an efficient and competitive internal energy market, interoperability of networks across borders and sectors, facilitating decarbonisation of the economy, and ensuring security of supply and EU energy independence, and to facilitate cross-border cooperation in the area of energy, including renewable energy, and to stimulate energy efficiency.
In the digital sector:
- contribute to the development of projects of common interest relating to the deployment of safe and secure very high capacity digital networks and 5G systems, to the increased resilience and capacity of digital backbone networks on EU territories by linking them to neighbouring territories, as well to the digitalisation of transport and energy network.
Budget
The proposed financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2021-2027 is set at EUR 43.85 billion. The distribution of this amount shall be as follows:
EUR 33.51 billion in constant prices for transport projects of which: (i) EUR 17.74 from the European Strategic Investment cluster; (ii) EUR 10 billion transferred from the Cohesion Fund to be spent in line with this Regulation exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund; (iii) EUR 5.76 billion from the heading Security and Defence from the MFF.
EUR 7.68 billion for energy network projects;
EUR 2.66 billion for digital network development.
The Programme shall:
- contribute to promoting territorial accessibility and connectivity in all regions of the Union, in particular in remote, outermost, island, peripheral, mountainous and cross-border regions, as well as in depopulated and scarcely populated areas;
- contribute to EU actions to combat climate change and support environmentally and socially sustainable projects;
- ensure transparency and citizen participation for important projects, in particular when projects affect the environment and human health.
Work programmes
Members proposed that the Commission must prepare, by the end of March 2021, a Framework Programme that will include the foreseen time table of the work programmes, calls, their topics and allocated financing and other necessary details necessary to provide transparency and predictability for all period of the Programme and to enhance the quality of the projects.