EUROPE: Speaking to Railway Gazette International, EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas highlighted plans to double CEF funding to €51·7bn for 2028-35, while emphasising the need for private investment and a review of ERA’s mandate to advance the Single European Rail Area.
A review of the mandate of the EU Agency for Railways and a drive to secure more private financing of rail projects are among the priorities for EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
Speaking exclusively to Railway Gazette International in late July, Tzitzikostas highlighted the Commission’s initial budget proposals for the 2028-35 period which would see the transport grants funded through the Connecting Europe Facility doubled in value.
‘Since 2014, CEF has supported over 1 860 projects along the TEN-T network, worth €47bn. This is of course something of which we can be proud. But the CEF Transport calls for proposals are heavily oversubscribed; demand for EU transport infrastructure funding remains high’, he admitted. ‘As proud as I am of what CEF achieves, let’s not forget that CEF grants are not the only option for transport infrastructure.’ He pointed to the Recovery & Resilience Facility and InvestEU instruments as playing a key role in the current funding period.
Nevertheless, he recognised that completing the TEN-T network will require ‘substantial investment, and at a time when national budgets are under pressure. I know that securing this funding will be challenging.’
He explained that the Commission’s proposal for the EU’s next programming period foresees €51∙7bn for CEF, ‘so the budget is doubled. And this will be complemented by National and Regional Partnerships, the European Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe. But we will need to complement EU funding with private investment, and we will need innovative financial instruments to attract this.’
Making SERA a reality
Asked how far the EU is from achieving its aim of a harmonised and interoperable rail network across the bloc, Tzitzikostas insisted that ‘the ultimate goal is a true Single European Rail Area. But success requires a major change in the mentality at each level, from domestic to European. This is not always easy.’
He noted that ‘a new regulation improving how we use rail infrastructure will also provide for more efficient capacity use on our rail network. The European Parliament and the Council are currently negotiating the details of our proposal. And we also need to make sure that trains and their drivers can pass smoothly from one national network to another. With this in mind, we are currently assessing the potential impacts of revising EU rules on the licensing and certification of train drivers.’
ERA mandate
Tzitzikostas anticipated changes ahead for the EU Agency for Railways. ‘We plan to evaluate ERA’s mandate, and I’m fairly sure that this evaluation will identify opportunities to optimise some of its processes’, he said. ‘This can be expected, after nine years of accumulated experience in applying the Fourth Railway Package, and more than five years as an authorising entity. We will address the evaluation findings in the next ERA mandate.’
Go deeper: The full interview with Apostolos Tzitzikostas will appear in the September issue of Railway Gazette International magazine, available via our dedicated subscriber area, Insights.
