EU member states approved the European Commission's proposal to invest €22.1 million in seven projects to help develop sustainable and efficient transport and energy infrastructure, the Commission announced on Tuesday.
The projects will receive funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), one of the key funding instruments of the EU's Energy Union strategy to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level, according to the statement.
"European transport still depends on oil for 94 percent of its energy needs. That is why the EU is investing in seven projects to speed up the deployment of alternative energy sources, with a special focus on electrification and multimodal transport," Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc was quoted as saying.
Enabling synergies between the transport and energy sectors will enhance the effectiveness of EU funding, according to the Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, who said they will contribute to the further integration of the internal energy market.
"The successful conclusion of the first CEF synergy call is yet another milestone in the achievement of our long-term decarbonization objectives," he added.
Four of the selected projects refer to transport priorities 'motorways of the sea', 'maritime ports' and 'multimodal transport modes' with emphasis on the gas sector with EU funding of €8.8 million.
Two are in the electricity sector addressing roads and multimodal transport with funding of €12.3 million and one relates to smart grids, focusing on railway transport with funding of €1 million, the Commission said.
(Anadolu Agency, 25 Apr,2017)
