On July 15th, 2025, the EU Commission unveiled its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, for 2028 to 2034.
For the transport sector, Commissioner Tzitzikostas announced that the package includes a strong proposal for a Connecting Europe Facility III, with a transport budget of 51,5 billion euro i.e. two times bigger than the budget in the current MFF. The envelope includes 17,65 billion euro for military mobility. This is a big leap forward representing a 10-time increase compared to the current MFF.
Between 2028 and 2034, the plan is to complete the cross-border sections of the TEN-T network and CEF will remain the key-tool to do so.
The National and Regional Partnerships will complement CEF funding for TEN-T cross-border connections. Through their national plans, Member States are called to invest in national TEN-T sections on the core and extended core networks. Investments that should ensure cross-border connections are properly integrated into national networks.
The national plans can also include investments in clean and digital transport, as well as in military mobility, even if the amount spent on transport under the National and Regional Partnerships will depend on what Member States include in their national plans.
The new European Competitiveness Fund is expected to support the entire investment cycle, from grant support for applied research right through to manufacturing and deployment. It will help to get high-quality, made-in-Europe innovations on to the market: solutions for producing alternative fuels, cleaner ships and aircraft, and for connected and automated driving.
The transport sector will also tap into the 26 billion euro available for the decarbonisation and clean transition window. In addition, more than 40 billion euro from the Innovation Fund will support these actions as well. The Fund will complement CEF investment in military mobility. And beyond infrastructure, it will be able to support equipment and mobile assets like dual-use ferries and flatbeds to transport tanks by rail.
Building upon the good work of InvestEU, the Competitiveness Fund will also help attract private investment and provide EU guarantees for transport projects. The Fund will have tight links to Horizon Europe, which will continue to finance new solutions for sustainable, digital and resilient transport.
The negotiations between the EU Commission and Member States will now start and we hope that the ambition will be at the same level. FEPORT and the other members of the coalition will reiterate their call.
