On general guidelines for the preparation of the 2026 budget, Section III – Commission

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OPINION

The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

A. whereas the Connecting Europe Facility for Transport (CEF-T) remains the primary EU instrument for strategic investment in the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), aimed at transforming the EU’s roads, railways, ports, inland waterways and airways into a connected, safe, efficient, sustainable and competitive transport system; whereas the completion deadlines of 2030 for the core network, 2040 for the extended core network and 2050 for the comprehensive network are binding on the Member States and often require massive and sustained infrastructure investments;

B. whereas modern, interconnected and multimodal transport infrastructure within a single European transport area is central to creating growth and jobs in the EU and completing the European single market; whereas successful decarbonisation that safeguards the global competitiveness of European industries requires significant investment in renewable-energy-based transport networks and alternative fuel infrastructure; whereas digitalisation across all transport sectors can yield significant efficiency gains, which often have the potential to exceed the initial investments;

C. whereas the efficient use of EU funds is paramount to achieving strategic objectives within limited financial envelopes, particularly in the light of inflationary pressures that have led to significant increases in construction, energy and raw material costs, threatening the financial feasibility of key infrastructure projects; whereas resilient funding mechanisms are vital for maintaining project momentum despite economic volatility; whereas the imperative of maximising the impact of EU spending requires inflation-adjusted budgetary provisions, the reallocation of underutilised funds, as well as clear monitoring and improved reporting frameworks;

D. whereas delays in planning, permitting and procurement processes also hinder the timely implementation of transport and infrastructure projects, jeopardising EU transport and infrastructure development; whereas establishing optimised approval procedures is crucial to accelerating project timelines and ensuring budget absorption;

F. whereas regulatory and administrative complexity and unequal access to funding disproportionately impact small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), regional authorities and disadvantaged regions; whereas the simplification of EU regulatory and administrative processes at all levels, coupled with streamlined access to funding, are essential for achieving the timely and efficient implementation of projects under CEF-T and tourism programmes, particularly for SMEs and regional authorities;

G. whereas the action plan on military mobility 2.0 outlines ambitious EU-level initiatives; whereas, however, inadequate funding remains a significant obstacle to their effective implementation;

H. whereas Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has underscored the EU’s vulnerability to external shocks; whereas strengthening transport connections with Ukraine and Moldova is now needed more than ever;

I. whereas tourism, identified in the Commission’s 2021 industrial strategy as a critical ecosystem, continues to face challenges from economic shocks, environmental impacts and uneven digital adoption;

1. Calls for a significant increase in the CEF-T budget to secure adequate funding for ongoing and planned TEN-T projects, focusing on cross-border infrastructure for enhanced passenger and freight flow;

2. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement that it will develop, as proposed in the Draghi report, an EU industrial action plan for the automotive sector, as well as a new maritime industrial strategy to enhance the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the European maritime manufacturing sector; calls, further, for a strategic action plan for the EU aviation sector to analyse potential reductions in administrative burdens and to assess financial needs for maintaining sector competitiveness in times of decarbonisation pressures; welcomes the commitment to put forward a plan for an ambitious European high-speed rail network to help connect EU capitals, including through night trains, and to accelerate rail freight, as already outlined in the revised TEN-T guidelines; advocates a comprehensive strategy on hyperloop, with clear timelines, detailed investment frameworks and support for research, development and deployment;

3. Calls for the digitalisation of transport through intelligent solutions and digital booking platforms to facilitate seamless cross-border travel; calls for the systematic reduction of EU regulatory burdens across all transport modes to free up resources, including EU budgetary means, for increased investment in transport infrastructure;

4. Calls on the Commission to address inflationary pressures and resource scarcity by incorporating inflation adjustments into the budget; notes that the inclusion of realistic price adjustments is essential to safeguarding the viability of transport and infrastructure projects against the impact of inflation-induced cost increases; supports reallocating resources from underutilised areas such as cohesion funds to strategic clusters such as transport infrastructure and innovation; calls strongly for the integration of inflation-resilient frameworks and adaptive budget mechanisms within the multiannual financial framework to avoid financing challenges in upcoming cycles;

5. Emphasises the importance of bolstering co-financing mechanisms, particularly for large-scale projects such as the Clean Aviation and Europe’s Rail Joint Undertakings, to ensure their timely implementation despite economic constraints; insists on the leveraging of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to mobilise additional resources;

6. Advocates innovative financing models, in particular the facilitation of PPPs by providing guarantees or implementing risk-sharing mechanisms, in order to attract private investments in transport and tourism infrastructure;

7. Stresses the need to reinforce the budgets of transport agencies, in particular the EU Aviation Safety Agency, the European Maritime Safety Agency and the EU Agency for Railways, so that they can fulfil the additional tasks assigned to them by the co-legislators in recently adopted EU legislation, as well as in order to support critical safety, sustainability and modernisation initiatives;

8. Calls, in the strongest terms, for the streamlining of application and reporting procedures in relation to EU funds; insists on more transparent and fair fund allocation using digital platforms in order to simplify access for SMEs and regional stakeholders; calls for the establishment of expedited review processes for critical transport and infrastructure projects in order to reduce delays; proposes the implementation of the ‘once-only’ principle for administrative processes, allowing applicants to provide information once and reuse it across EU programmes, thereby reducing redundancy and delays;

9. Insists on the restoration of the military mobility budget to the originally proposed EUR 6.5 billion over seven years, highlighting its critical role in adapting parts of the TEN-T infrastructure for dual use along priority axes, in order to facilitate the movement of military equipment across the continent, enabling a joint response to military threats to the EU Member States and their allied nations;

10. Reiterates that to accelerate Ukraine’s post-war recovery and its integration into the EU market, it is imperative to improve the capacity along the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, encompassing railway upgrades, improved border crossings and the crucial step of integrating Ukraine’s rail system into the EU’s standard gauge to facilitate the uninterrupted movement of goods and services;

11. Calls for funding mechanisms to support the recovery of the tourism sector from economic shocks, ensuring the stability of its workforce and businesses; highlights the need to reduce administrative burdens for SMEs operating in the tourism sector by simplifying rules and providing tailored financial support; notes that the tourism industry stands to benefit greatly from digital innovations such as smart tourism platforms and integrated digital ticketing systems for attractions and services, which enhance visitor experiences while driving significant economic growth for local communities.