The European Commission’s INEA Executive Agency is about to launch the CEF blending 2019 Call, first deadline December 2019. The aim is to encourage the participation of private investors in TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Networks) investment projects.
The priorities of the call, which combines, as is well known, instruments from financial institutions and investment banks with traditional subsidies, concern the development of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) along the TEN-T corridors and the use of alternative fuels in accordance with the 2014/94 Directive. Investments in facilities for the distribution and storage of LNG in core nodes and along the TEN-T corridor are therefore also included.
In particular, 198 million euros of funds are planned for this call, to be used immediately during 2019 and 2020. In line with the blending concept , which combines different sources of funding, the project must first have been reviewed and approved by financial institutions for the purposes of the application, and must therefore provide for a sharing of investment costs by the public and private sectors, through financing channels such as debt, equity or guarantees.
Above all, for CEF projects, first of all the EIB-European Investment Bank must give its support to the project, while at a later stage other national financial institutions are also expected to take over.