Follow the funding process

€8 billion has been attributed by the EU to the TEN-T programme for 2007-2013, in order to support studies or works which contribute to the TEN-T programme objectives. To allow this funding to ultimately improve the European transport network and increase mobility, there is a specific sequence of activities which need to take place in order to award it. These are summarised below.

(If you are already a beneficiary of TEN-T funding, the Beneficiaries Info Point section provides you with key information and documents relevant for fulfilling your obligations as beneficiary and working with the Agency.) 

Applying for funding

TEN-T funding opportunities are open to all EU Member States or, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, international organisations, joint undertakings, or public/private undertakings or bodies. Funding in TEN-T grants can support studies or works which contribute to TEN-T programme objectives.

Two fundamental legal documents guide the allocation of Community financial support in the transport sector and provide information about the specific types of projects which are funded and in what amounts:

1. TEN Guidelines: Decision N° 661/2010/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network

TEN Guidelines.pdf (73.7 MB)

2. TEN Regulation: Regulation (EC) No 680/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 lays down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of the trans-European transport and mobility networks 

 TEN Regulation.pdf (94 KB)

Amounts of funding

The financial envelope for the implementation of the TEN-T Programme under the TEN Regulation for the period 2007-2013 is €8.013 billion.

The above-mentioned budget also includes €500 million for the Loan Guarantee Instrument, an innovative financial instrument set up and developed jointly by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) which aims at facilitating a larger participation of the private sector in the financing of TEN-T infrastructure.

Calls for Proposals

This €8 billion budget over the 2007-2013 funding period is primarily allocated to projects selected via calls for proposals which are launched each year by DG MOVE and, as of 2009, by the TEN-T EA on its behalf. The norm is that, each year, a Multi-Annual Call and an Annual Call are launched.

Overall, the Multi-Annual Calls aim to give an important impetus to the implementation of the TEN-T priority projects - as defined in the TEN Guidelines - and to address some horizontal priorities.

Projects funded under the Multi-Annual Calls are expected to help complete the TEN-T network as approved by the European Parliament and the Council, with a target completion date of 2020. For this purpose, Community funding aims to mobilise as much public and private financing as needed to meet the challenging timetables. In general, Multi-Annual projects are of a larger size and longer duration than Annual projects. 80-85% of the TEN-T budget is allocated through Multi-Annual Calls.

Annual Calls are intended to complement the Multi-Annual Calls, thus also giving priority to projects that address key TEN-T issues such as bottlenecks or cross-border projects. However, given their annual nature, Annual Calls have a higher degree of flexibility to meet new priorities. Since a smaller portion of the TEN-T budget (15-20%) is dedicated to Annual Calls, these are not suited to cover large projects over a long period of time.

2011 Calls for Proposals

2010 Calls for Proposals

2009 Calls for Proposals

For any general questions relating to calls for proposals, please check the specific Calls sections or contact the Calls Helpdesk!

Evaluation and Selection

The Commission (DG MOVE), with the assistance of the Agency, carries out the evaluation and selection of submitted proposals. The process is supported by independent external experts, whose role is to ensure that only the most high-quality proposals which best meet the award criteria as described in the relevant work programme and call text are selected for funding.

Proposals which meet the eligibility criteria specified for a call are evaluated on the basis of the criteria defined in the relevant work programme and call texts. Essentially, these relate to:

• relevance to the TEN-T priorities and policy objectives
• maturity
• impact - particularly on the environment
• quality (completeness, clarity, soundness and coherence) 

A list of proposals recommended for funding is then prepared by DG MOVE with the support of the Agency, taking into account the opinion of the external experts. 

Successful applicants are then invited by the Agency to enter into negotiations on the basis of which, if agreement is reached, individual Commission Decisions are established to support individual projects.

For more information on the evaluation and selection process, please consult the Guides for Applicants available on the individual Calls pages.

A full list of selected projects is available on our website.

In summary