Rob de Leeuw van Weenen
Project Manager Infra
+70 3988 342
rle@nea.nl
8 - Roads and Regional Development
Funds and Financing
The interest of road authorities in large scale infrastructure investments is steadily growing. Road authorities in the EU are increasingly aware that they do not operate in a vacuum and that they are accountable to the general public and the business sector for their actions. In Europe, the policies concerning regional economic development of the European Commission and international financing institutions form a powerful stimulus in this process, particularly through the various assistance instruments that have been made available.
The European Commission's assistance funds
The Cohesion Fund is a structural instrument that has been helping Member States to reduce economic and social disparities and to stabilise their economies since 1994. The Cohesion Fund finances up to 85 % of the eligible expenditure of major projects involving the environment and transport infrastructure. This strengthens cohesion and solidarity within the EU. The least prosperous Member States of the Union whose gross national product (GNP) per capita is below 90% of the EU-average (since 1/5/2004 Greece, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) are eligible. In 2007 the Cohesion Fund will be more integrated into the operation of the mainstream Structural Funds.
Would you like to know more about the EC’s assistance funds?
The European Commission has joined forces with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) which both have long records of successful cooperation in financing projects in central and eastern Europe. Together they are developing a new technical assistance to improve the preparation of projects proposed for financing by EU Funds and to help the Member States to use the grant finances provided by the EU more rapidly and more effectively. This initiative is called JASPERS (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions).
Would you like to know more about JASPERS?
Would you like to know more about the EIB?
Would you like to know more the EBRD?
The EC has described its priorities concerning transport in the White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: Time to Decide". In 2007 the Commission published a mid-term report “Keep Europe Moving: a transport policy for sustainable mobility” which described a mixture of progress and identified important steps the EU needs to take over the next five years.
The White Paper: European Transport Policy for 2010 " Time to Decide"
The White Paper has led to various policy initiatives, one of them being the new TEN-T Guidelines. The construction of a trans-European transport network (TEN-T) is fundamental for securing a single market with free movement of passengers and goods, as well as for reinforcing economic and social cohesion and promoting economic competitiveness and sustainable development in the European Union. The aim of the TEN-T is to ensure that national networks for all modes of transport are accessible, interconnected and interoperable.
Would you like to know more about the EC White Paper?
Would you like to know more about the TEN-T Guidelines?
TEN-STAC
A 2004 study (TEN-STAC) shows that completion of the networks will considerably reduce journey time for passengers and goods. In addition, freight transport in the EU is expected to increase by more than two-thirds between 2000 and 2020, and to double in the new Member States. Without TEN-T this increase in transport would be impossible to handle, and our rate of economic growth would be significantly slowed. Funds are made available by the EC through the Structural and Cohesion Funds and through loans provided by the European Investment Bank.
