On 7 May 2025, the European Parliament adopted its preliminary position on the EU’s next MFF for the period beyond 2027, stressing the need for significantly increased investment in transport infrastructure. This stance reflects the Parliament’s recognition of the essential role of transport in delivering on the Union’s climate, connectivity, and competitiveness objectives.
MEPs endorsed the report entitled “On a revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world”, which calls for greater funding allocations to sustainable and renewable energy infrastructure, sustainable transport systems, and digital infrastructure. The report places particular emphasis on improving cross-border connections, addressing urban mobility challenges, and eliminating national bottlenecks that obstruct the free movement of people and goods across the Union.
It also underscores that sufficient resources must be earmarked specifically for the decarbonisation of transport and for improving the accessibility and affordability of sustainable transport modes for all citizens. This includes the development and expansion of the high-speed rail network strategy, as well as the timely completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which forms the backbone of European transport policy.
The European Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to developing an ambitious European high-speed rail network connecting all EU capitals and major cities, including through enhanced night train services. At the same time, regional and local rail connections are to be preserved and strengthened, ensuring territorial cohesion and equal access across regions. The Commission’s plans also involve the creation of a unified digital ticketing system to facilitate multimodal travel and the acceleration of rail freight development to support a more efficient and sustainable logistics network.
As the report notes, “such infrastructure goes hand in hand with the deepening of the single market and is key to achieving our climate and environmental targets,” and needs to be sustained by a bigger next MFF dedicated to transport infrastructure. Rail infrastructure plays a strategic role in both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fostering European integration.
An amendment to the report, published on 25 April 2025, highlights the importance of supporting rail sector priorities, such as the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), onboard ETCS units, Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC), Digital Capacity Management (DCM), and the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS). These technological enablers of rail digitalisation should benefit from specific budgetary allocations within instruments like the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). However, the amendment also calls for a significant increase in resources to ensure effective deployment and support the transition to a more modern, efficient, and competitive rail sector.
The post-2027 EU budget must be structured to facilitate a major modal shift from road and air to rail, as this transition is essential to cutting transport-related emissions and reducing energy consumption. Rail is among the most energy-efficient and low-emission modes of transport, consuming significantly less energy than other modes and producing just 0.4% of total transport emissions in the EU. Encouraging a shift to rail will not only contribute to environmental goals but will also reduce congestion and increase safety across the European transport network.
The amendment also underlines the continued importance of existing funding mechanisms such as the CEF, which has proven effective in supporting strategic infrastructure projects. It urges that such instruments not only be maintained but significantly upscaled in the next MFF to meet future challenges. In addition, the document stresses that in the next MFF, a new military mobility action plan should be developed jointly with NATO, which prioritises dual-use infrastructure projects that address and close gaps in the EU’s military mobility network.
Furthermore, an additional amendment stresses the critical strategic importance of high-speed rail lines connecting European capitals to the overall success of the EU’s transport policy. These lines form the core of the TEN-T and must be completed by 2030 in order to meet EU targets on mobility, sustainability, and cohesion. Financing the European high-speed rail network should therefore be fully integrated into the next MFF. Projects included in the high-speed rail masterplan must be supported by a reliable and adequately funded financial mechanism to ensure timely delivery and effective implementation.
At the same time, the proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), announced by the European Commission, should serve as a complementary instrument and must not replace a dedicated, centrally managed transport funding mechanism such as CEF. The ECF should instead focus on transport research and innovation, fostering cross-sector synergies and contributing to EU competitiveness in a supportive role.
With the EU’s firm commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the decarbonisation of the economy through clean technologies and upgraded transport and energy infrastructure is essential. Rail, being one of the cleanest and most efficient modes of transport, must lie at the heart of this transformation.
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