CEF2 is gaining momentum

Below we present the material from the aforementioned latest CEUTP Bulletin. More other interesting expert materials can be found in our publications, which we cordially encourage you to read.

The second call for proposals from the transport sector under the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 (CEF 2)

On September 13, 2022, the European Commission (EC) and with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) announced the second call for proposals from the transport sector under the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 (CEF 2). The competition will be open until January 18, 2023, 5.00 p.m. – by this time, all applications for co-financing for projects applying for the EU funds for the implementation must be submitted in the CINEA IT system.

The budget of the call is EUR 5.12 billion. The amount is available under two application pools that differ in the level of possible support – the Cohesion Fund pool (up to 85%), the general pool (up to 50%).

The call supports projects that fit into the following priorities:

• infrastructure projects within the TEN-T core and comprehensive network (railways, inland waterways, sea and inland ports, roads, road and rail terminals and multimodal logistics platforms),
• smart applications for transport (ERTMS, ITS, SESAR, RIS, etc.),
• digitization and dissemination of transport data,
• transport interoperability,
• new technologies and innovations (studio projects only),
• sea highways,
• multimodal passenger hubs (study projects only),
• reduction of rail freight noise,
• safe mobility, including parking infrastructure and road safety,
• improving transport infrastructure resilience, in particular to climate change and natural disasters,
• adaptation of transport infrastructure for the purpose of control at the external borders of the European Union.

The call documents were published on the website of the European Commission CINEA – CEF2 Info Day

In order to present the scope and conditions of the competition, the European Commission organized an information day on October 5, 2022 (on-line).

On the CINEA website you can find both the recording of the meeting and all the presentations given.

The Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy – Polish CEF Info Day

The second call for projects under CEF2 Transport, announced on September 13, 2022, is of beneficiaries’ great interest. At the invitation of the Ministry, more than 90 project proposals were submitted by October 11, they will apply for funding under the announced call. On October 25, upon the initiative of the Ministry, an online information meeting with potential beneficiaries was held. At the meeting, rules of recruitment were discussed in detail, CBA and the environment presented presentations on the part of the CEUTP. Materials from the meeting were sent to its participants and are also available on the Ministry website.

The call is coordinated by the Department of Infrastructure Programs (DPI) at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy. Applications must be approved by the Member State, i.e. the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, before being submitted to the European Commission. Applications not approved by the Ministry will not be assessed by the European Commission.

After accepting an initial proposal, a complete application for co-financing should be submitted at the DPI at the Ministry by December 1, 2022, in order to obtain the approval of the Member State. The deadline for submitting applications to the EC via a dedicated electronic system is January 18, 2023, at 5.00 p.m..

Nabory w ramach AFIF – Instrument Infrastruktura Paliw Alternatywnych

Projects concerning the development of alternative fuels infrastructure in the TEN-T network may apply for co-financing under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility. The available allocation under this pool of funds is EUR 375 million.

Calls for alternative fuels are conducted on a continuous basis, until the available allocation is exhausted.

On September 13, 2022, the European Commission awarded further grants for alternative fuel projects, and the CEF Transport Coordinating Committee agreed to the recommendation presented by the European Commission. This means that three more projects supporting alternative fuels will be implemented in Poland.

The following projects received funding:

• “Clean cities – hydrogen mobility in Poland (phase II)”, the beneficiary is Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN S.A. The value of co-financing for the project is EUR 12.79 million.
• “Expand-E Cohesion: EXpanding Performance and Network Density – Electric in CZ, EL, HU, HR, LT, LV, PL, RO, SK and SL”, the beneficiary is an international consortium headed by Greenway Infrastructure SRO. GreenWay Polska sp. z o.o. participates in the project. The value of co-financing for the project is EUR 42.42 million.
• “Enefit Volt Connects Via Baltica”, whose beneficiaries are Eesti Energia AS and Enefit Connect OU. The value of co-financing for the project is EUR 2 million.

On November 10, 2022, the third call for proposals for alternative fuel projects ended. In the call for proposals, the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy approved one submitted application with the requested co-financing value of EUR 3.5 million.

The results of the recruitment should be announced in March 2023.

The next dates for calls for projects in the thematic area have been set for:

• April 13, 2023,
• September 19, 2023.

For the next call for proposals in April, project proposals should be submitted as fiches to the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy by January 13, 2023, and full application documentation – by February 17, 2023.

Details about the call can be found on dedicated websites and on the Polish version of CEF’s website.

Connecting Europe Facility Military Mobility

On September 29, 2022, the recruitment under the 2nd call of the Connecting Europe Facility Military Mobility, announced by the European Commission in cooperation with the Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA), ended. As part of the call, Polish beneficiaries submitted a total of 8 applications:

• 5 applications were submitted by airports located in the TEN-T network and concern airport infrastructure,
• 1 application is related to the construction of loading points on the railway network,
• 2 applications concern the reconstruction of engineering structures on the national road network.

The total value is EUR 171 million, and the amount of funding requested is more than EUR 85 million.

The project evaluation procedure carried out by the services of the European Commission in cooperation with the European Defense Agency has already been completed. On December 20, 2022, the CEF Coordinating Committee approved the results of the second CEF Military Mobility call. 5 Polish projects received funding of more than EUR 30 million. They are:

• Project Częstochowa City – Maintaining the strategic importance of Wojska Polskiego Avenue in Czestochowa for national defence;
• Project GDDKiA – Bridge structures on selected national roads in the TEN-T network located on routes predefined for troop movements;
• Project PKP PLK – Works at cargo points located on the TEN-T network;
• GTL S.A. project – Construction of a multimodal goods and fuel delivery hub with railway siding connection at Katowice Airport;
• Project PPL – Warsaw Chopin Airport – Investments in dual-use infrastructure to ensure base Service Operations 24/7.

Five Grant Agreements under CEF2 Military Mobility

In October 2022 beneficiaries of the Connecting Europe Facility Military Mobility signed grant agreements (GA) with the Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) for their 5 projects. They are projects selected as part of the first call for proposals, finished in January 2022.

• The first of the contracts for the modernization of transport infrastructure under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the years 2021-2027 was signed between CINEA and the Wroclaw Airport Authority S.A. Thus, the Airport received EU funding for the implementation of the project “Increasing the operational capacity of the air part of the airport for the needs of military operations at Wroclaw Airport S.A.” (Increasing the operational capabilities of the airport’s air side for military operations at Wroclaw Airport).

The project provides for the preparation of documentation for the expansion of airport planes at the Airport in Wroclaw, and the implementation of construction works, which will include, among others:

• construction of an apron;
• construction of a parallel taxiway;
• building an icing plate;
• construction of an express road;
• reconstruction of existing taxiways.

It is the largest of the Polish projects that received support under the first call for improvement of military mobility. Its value is nearly EUR 76 million and the CEF subsidy is almost EUR 37.9 million.

The activities are intended to increase the airport’s operability for military and civil operations. The investments will be implemented in stages so as not to disrupt the operation of the airport. The works will be completed in the first half of 2026.

• The General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is also among the institutions that will receive CEF funding. The result of the GDDKiA project “Reinforcement of the WA39 and MA52 bridge structures on the A2 concession motorway” will be the elimination of bottlenecks on the A2 motorway, so that it can be used for the transport of both civilian oversize vehicles and heavy military equipment. The awarded CEF funding amounts to almost EUR 1 million. Completion of works is planned for the first quarter of 2024.

Rzeszów Jasionka Airport submitted two project proposals in the first call for proposals, and both were granted funding by the decision of CINEA:

• Construction of the second stage of the parallel taxiway and the first stage of the reconstruction of the runway on the section of approx. 700 m at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, together with the technical infrastructure (completion of works is planned in 2024),
• Stage II of the reconstruction of the runway on a section of approximately 1,800 m at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, together with the technical infrastructure (completion of works is planned for 2025).

In the project, the runway and the taxiway will be thoroughly reconstructed, accommodation of the largest aircraft will be possible. Completion of works is planned for the first quarter of 2024.

The value of both projects is EUR 33.3 million, and the awarded CEF funding is EUR 16.6 million. As a result of the implementation of the projects, the operational capabilities of the airport for civil and military operations will improve.

• The fifth subsidy agreement was signed between CINEA and Szczecin Goleniów Airport. The project “Implementation of the CAT II ground navigation lighting system at Szczecin-Goleniów Airport with accompanying infrastructure” provides for the design and installation of a system enabling landing of aircraft with a visibility of 30 meters up and 300 meters horizontally. The risk of having to redirect planes to an alternate airport in the event of bad weather conditions will be limited.

The value of the project is EUR 10 million, and the CEF grant is EUR 5 million. The works will be completed in the first half of 2024.

CEF2 on Polish roads

On October 14, 2022, the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways received the first funds from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in the new financial perspective 2021-2027.

A Grant Agreement was signed for the project “Construction of a cross-border road connection on the Via Carpatia route between Poland and Slovakia”.

The Slovak road administration – Narodna Dialninicna Spolocnost, AS is the project partner. The section of the route that will be constructed in the project is part of the S19 expressway, within the Via Carpatia road transport corridor. It is a key transport corridor that will connect Northern and Southern Europe. It runs via Carpatia from Klaipeda in Lithuania, through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, to Thessaloniki in Greece.

The result of the project on the Polish side of the border will be the design and construction of the S19 expressway on the Dukla-Barwinek section (state border). The investment concerns over 18 km of a road section, the parameters of which will ensure high comfort and safety for travelers in long-distance traffic. The project implementation will also improve Poland’s transport accessibility and cross-border connections within the TEN-T network. The value of this project is more than EUR 384 million, of which the CEF co-financing will amount to more than EUR 326 million.

Agreement between the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy and CEF2 on CEF2 projects

On October 27, 2022, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry and CEUTP on the implementation of the Connecting Europe Facility for 2021-2027 in the transport sector (hereinafter referred to as “CEF2”).

Such an agreement is usually signed in each subsequent financial perspective, it regulates the principles of cooperation in the implementation of projects.

More interesting expert materials can be found in our publications, which we cordially encourage you to read.