The European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is unlocking 790 million euros to adapt the TEN-T network for dual-use transportation (military and civilian). The money is available for proposals for studies and works concerning the movement of military equipment via all transport modes, including the rail.

As the European Commission (EC) stated, applicants must submit their proposals before 21 September 2023. Between then and December, the EC will evaluate the various proposals, with the funds expected to be assigned by June 2024. Since the call for proposals for this new initiative has been brought forward on 3 May, it is not yet possible to know how big of a slice of the 790 million will go to rail projects.

The only requirement for the proposals is that projects need to be located on the TEN-T and EU military transport network. Proposals for new projects can be submitted by one or more EU member states as well as private entities established in the EU, as long as the member state involved agrees. As Adina Valean, EC Commissioner for Transport claimed, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown the need for the EU armed forces to easily move military equipment around the Union.

CINEA, CEF, and military mobility

This CINEA’s call for proposals is part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport, an EU funding instrument. Through the CEF, the CINEA plans to allocate a total of 1,69 billion euros for military mobility initiatives in the Union. In April 2022, the EU granted 339 million euros in grants for 22 projects. Of these, 160 million were allocated to rail projects aimed at enabling the circulation of larger and heavier trains.

Also read:

• CPK project: intermodal freight and military mobility will be core operational elements
• LTG Infra to build dual-purpose rail facility for military transport
• Military mobility in action: LTG loads tanks on trains for the first time