Key takeaways:
- The European Commission has proposed €51.5bn for CEF Transport in 2028–2034, compared with €25.8bn in the current 2021–2027 framework.
- Around €17.7bn could be allocated to military mobility and dual-use infrastructure.
- Investment priorities include removing bottlenecks and filling missing links on cross-border routes, while continuing to expand the TEN-T network.
- According to estimates cited by the Commission, completing TEN-T by 2050 could increase the European Union’s GDP by 2.4%.
The European Commission has proposed a substantial increase in funding for the transport arm of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) under the EU’s next multiannual financial framework. Under the proposal for 2028–2034, CEF Transport would receive a budget of €51.5bn.
The current 2021–2027 framework provides €25.8bn for CEF Transport. If the Commission’s proposal survives the budget negotiations, funding for European transport infrastructure would therefore be roughly double the current level.
The proposal forms part of the EU’s draft long-term budget for 2028–2034. Discussions on the final shape of the multiannual financial framework are still under way.
TEN-T is designed to link 27 national networks
Transport plans were discussed at Connecting Europe Days in Brussels, held from 28 September to 1 October 2026.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said one of the key objectives was to turn 27 national transport systems into a single European network.
We have proposed more than €50bn through the Connecting Europe programme. The goal is clear: we must turn 27 national systems into one genuinely European network.
Von der Leyen said the estimate cited by the Commission suggested that completing the TEN-T network could increase EU GDP by 2.4% by 2050, equivalent to approximately €467bn.
TEN-T covers Europe’s main road and rail connections, ports, inland waterways, airports, multimodal terminals and urban nodes. For freight transport, projects that remove bottlenecks and fill missing links on cross-border routes are particularly important.
Around €17.7bn earmarked for military mobility
One of the most significant changes in the proposed budget would be the increase in funding for military mobility.
Of the proposed €51.5bn for transport, around €17.7bn could be allocated to this area. That would represent a several-fold increase compared with the current funding period.
The funding would not be limited to infrastructure used exclusively for military purposes. Many projects would have a dual purpose: improving everyday civilian transport while also enabling heavy military equipment to move quickly across Europe.
Potential projects include strengthening bridges and increasing their load capacity, adapting tunnels, upgrading rail lines, terminals and border crossings, and improving connections between ports and road and rail networks.
Developing dual-use infrastructure would also strengthen the resilience of Europe’s transport network and critical infrastructure.
Europe cannot defend itself without a capable transport network
At Connecting Europe Days, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas stressed that effective transport infrastructure was becoming part of European security policy.
We cannot defend Europe if we cannot move quickly from one end of the continent to the other. Security also depends on a transport network without missing links or bottlenecks.
Tzitzikostas said this in remarks at the event.
Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, also highlighted the importance of military logistics. Speakers at the conference noted that moving a single brigade by road could require a convoy of up to 5,000 vehicles, while transporting 100,000 soldiers could create a column approximately 240 kilometres long.
Military requirements can be considerably more demanding than those of everyday transport. Lieutenant General Kai Rohrschneider of NATO pointed, among other things, to the need for bridges with sufficient load capacity and tunnels that meet the required specifications.
Cross-border projects set to gain importance
For carriers, one of the most important aspects may be the stronger focus that future funding is expected to place on cross-border infrastructure.
CEF is already the EU’s main funding instrument for developing TEN-T. In the next financial period, the money is expected to support better links between member states and the removal of missing links across the European transport network.
For road transport, this could mean investment not only in roads but also in bridges, tunnels, intermodal terminals, port access and infrastructure that allows borders to be crossed more efficiently.
A key criterion for dual-use projects is expected to be their international scope. During the conference, Tzitzikostas said that projects supporting military mobility should not be confined to one country. Instead, they should connect several countries and create coherent transport corridors.
In this context, the commissioner referred to the need for a form of military Schengen that would make it easier to move equipment and personnel quickly between EU member states.
A proposal, not an approved budget
Although the Commission has included €51.5bn in its proposal, the transport budget has not yet been finally approved.
The draft multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034 is still being negotiated within the EU. The final amount allocated to CEF Transport will depend on agreements between EU institutions and member states.
The outcome of those negotiations will determine how much funding actually reaches TEN-T, cross-border connections and dual-use infrastructure after 2027.
For the transport industry, however, the scale of the proposal is already a significant signal. In the next financial period, transport infrastructure is expected to be viewed not only through the lenses of capacity, competitiveness and decarbonisation, but increasingly also through supply chain resilience and the ability to move people and equipment quickly between EU member states.
