Opinion on the guidelines for the 2027 Budget – Section III

27.1.2026

Mr Johan Van Overtveldt

Chair

Committee on Budgets

BRUSSELS

Subject: Opinion on the guidelines for the 2027 Budget – Section III (2025/2246(BUI))

Dear Chair,

Under the procedure referred to above, the Committee on Transport and Tourism has been asked to submit an opinion to your committee. On 2 December 2025, TRAN Coordinators decided to send the opinion in the form of a letter, which TRAN adopted at its meeting of 27 January 2026.

Ahead of the final year of the 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the committee reaffirms that the Connecting Europe Facility for Transport (CEF-T) has been crucial in advancing and deploying high-quality, strategic, multimodal, innovative, resilient and sustainable transport infrastructure projects across the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). European co-funding through the CEF has played a pivotal role in financing cross-border projects and missing links, often characterised by high upfront costs, as well as other key initiatives that underpin EU-wide connectivity – including national sections with a cross-border relevance and linked to the reliable functioning of the corridors – and in strengthening interoperability, cohesion, and the advancement of sustainability and digitalisation solutions. In this context, the committee draws attention to the CEF reflow call planned for 2026 and notes that 2027 will see the last project selections under the current MFF, stressing that any increase in the 2027 CEF budget would translate into additional high-quality projects.

Beyond the outstanding needs associated to the binding completion deadlines for the Trans-European core, extended core and comprehensive networks, including priority axes, the committee draws attention to the strategic necessity of ensuring a climate-resilient TEN-T network and enhancing proactive preparedness planning to safeguard the EU’s long-term connectivity, cohesion and competitiveness. The impacts of climate change are already causing significant disruptions to transport infrastructure throughout Europe. In recent years, extreme weather events have caused temporary failures, physical damage and prolonged disruptions to supply chains. The growing intensity of these phenomena calls for urgent adaptation across all transport modes to prevent increased vulnerabilities, market disruptions and significant socio-economic costs.

Furthermore, the committee highlights the recently adopted strategic documents, including Commission proposals on Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) and Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail as well as Ministerial Declaration on the Clean Transport Corridor Initiative. The committee notes that under STIP, the EU measures foreseen are expected to mobilise at least EUR 2.9 billion by the end of 2027, with the aim of unlocking public and private investment, accelerating the deployment of alternative fuels, supporting clean transport technologies and tackling investment barriers in hardtoabate sectors such as aviation and waterborne transport. The committee supports the launch of a study in 2026 to assess the decarbonisation of the inland waterways sector and to identify possible regulatory changes that could facilitate the uptake of alternative fuels. As regards the High-Speed Rail Plan, the committee supports its objective to provide more affordable journeys through a faster, safer, better connected and fully interoperable high-speed rail network by 2040. In addition, the forthcoming EU Ports and Industrial Maritime Strategies set clear political imperatives to direct investment towards enhancing the long-term competitiveness and resilience of ports and their hinterland connections, with a focus on security and defence, trade, energy transition and sustainability.

Against the background of the Industrial Plan for the European automotive sector and the Automotive Package, the 2027 budget should prioritise funding for charging infrastructure, especially in light of a possible funding gap in 2026–2027, as well as research supporting the technological transition, including electrification, hydrogen, synthetic fuels and biofuels.

Taking all the above into consideration, the committee underlines the need for a coherent EU financing strategy and urges the Commission to equip it with the necessary resources to secure the timely delivery of the TEN-T deadlines and objectives, while integrating the new priority EU strategies and projects consistent with CEF eligibility rules. Furthermore, the committee calls on the European Investment Bank (EIB) to intensify its support for the newly defined strategic directions. Finally, the Member States are encouraged to make a full use of their cohesion funds to implement the transport and military mobility projects included in their programmes.

On this basis, and with 2027 marking the final year of CEF under the 2021–2027 MFF, the committee signals unequivocally that this decisive bridging year must pave the way for a stronger and more ambitious CEF III in the next MFF.

Given the current geopolitical context, the committee underscores the central role of transport in the European defence strategy, noting that military mobility relies almost entirely on the civilian transport network – both its infrastructure across all modes of transport as well as the availability and the responsiveness of its operators in emergency or crisis situations. The committee deplores that the lack of strategic foresight regarding dual-use infrastructure investments led to a 75 % reduction of the military mobility envelope in the MFF 2021–2027 negotiations and insists that such a situation must not recur, particularly given that the military mobility budget had to be frontloaded and was entirely consumed by the beginning of 2024. Instead, the committee advocates for a 360-degree approach to preparing the Union’s entire territory, consistent with the ReArm Europe Plan and the forthcoming Military Mobility package, ensuring coherence between EU budgetary instruments, defence objectives and NATO operational requirements.

The committee recalls that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has highlighted the importance of investing in military mobility to address crises that may erupt at the EU’s external borders and beyond. In this context, it welcomes targeted investments under the Ukraine Facility (2024–2027), especially those aimed at upgrading rail and road border-crossing points along the TEN-T. The committee reiterates that continuous and stable support to Ukraine remains an indispensable pillar of Europe’s collective security. It recalls that the EU has already mobilised over EUR 2.3 billion to improve the Solidarity Lanes, including EUR 1.55 billion in non-reimbursable CEF grants, with CEF leveraging more than EUR 2.9 billion across 38 projects to upgrade TEN-T border crossings with Ukraine and Moldova, integrate them into the EU’s standard-gauge rail network and strengthen their links to EU transport systems.

The committee urges the reinforcement of co-financing mechanisms, notably for strategically important large-scale projects, such as the Clean Aviation, the Single European Sky ATM Research 3, and the Europe’s Rail joint undertakings (JUs), and encourages both the creation of new and the promotion of existing public-private partnerships that support European strategic autonomy, notably European preference. The committee acknowledges their strong budgetary performance and reiterates that they mobilise valuable additional resources, playing a tangible role in advancing the EU’s green and digital transformation and bolstering its competitiveness. Given these factors, the committee urges that the activities of the three transport JUs be safeguarded in the next Horizon Programme.

In the same vein, the committee calls on reinforcing the budgets of the three transport agencies. The committee underlines that the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are expected to face a new increase in workload stemming from their expanded responsibilities under the Military Mobility package, as reflected in the Commission proposal for a Regulation on establishing a framework of measures to facilitate the transport of military equipment, goods and personnel across the Union, and under upcoming legislative proposals, including the Common Safety Methods on Assessment of Safety Level and Safety Performance and the revision of the ERA Regulation aimed at reinforcing its role, inter alia in vehicle authorisation, the harmonisation and removal of national rules, and its work on technical specifications. In addition, the committee notes the additional tasks conferred on EASA and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in light of the broader geopolitical context and insists that the evolving mandates of the three transport agencies be matched by adequate resources to ensure they can continue supporting critical safety, sustainability, interoperability and modernisation initiatives.

The committee equally recognises the role of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) in supporting smart and resilient mobility and underscores the importance of ensuring adequate financing for the agency, while stressing that it should not come to the detriment of other transport-related programmes, particularly the CEF.

Emphasising that transport and tourism are among the sectors most exposed to the EU’s economic transformation, the committee takes note of the Commission’s ongoing assessment of working conditions in transport and calls for the appropriate measures to address the challenges that may surface. Accordingly, it considers it essential that, during the final year of the current MFF, the Social Climate Fund and the Just Transition Fund serve as pillars of a fair transition, placing reskilling and upskilling measures at the forefront. In addition, the Committee takes note of the decision of the Commission to explore, together with the EIB, the new EU Emissions Trading System 2 (ETS2) Frontloading Facility for Member States. This facility would prefinance measures to address transport poverty, improve affordability for vulnerable transport users and households – such as social leasing or other purchase incentives for electric vehicles – and accelerate the uptake of clean mobility technologies, thus supporting the implementation of the Social Climate Fund.

Lastly, the committee draws attention to tourism’s key and strategic role in the Union’s economy, noting that its development depends on accessibility and sustainability, and therefore calls for the effective implementation of an ambitious EU sustainable tourism strategy. This entails supporting targeted measures to enhance connectivity, including in islands and outermost regions; improving infrastructure to foster smart sustainable and resilient transport systems and smoother cross-border mobility; promoting a more balanced distribution of tourism across Europe; strengthening destination management; and contributing to further growth, quality jobs and economic opportunities for local communities while preserving their well-being. The committee insists that, to harness tourism’s full potential and steer this vital sector responsibly, the sector must be accorded a more prominent role in the priorities and financial allocations of the 2028–2034 MFF. However, even if the architecture of the next MFF offers a clearer path to anchor tourism as a strategic industrial priority, the committee judges that current progress remains far from sufficient. Furthermore, the committee regrets that, yet again, the proposal falls short of establishing a dedicated programme and a specific budget line for sustainable tourism.

Yours sincerely,

Elissavet VozembergVrionidi Rosa Serrano-Sierra

the Rapporteur

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur for opinion declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not include in her opinion input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.