The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies and the European Sea Ports Organisation have led a joint open letter calling on EU leaders to restore the CEF transport envelope, which a negotiating box would cut by 11% to €40.6 billion.
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) have led 38 European transport organisations in a joint open letter urging EU Heads of State and Government to reverse proposed cuts to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in the next long-term EU budget.
The letter, dated 14 October 2026, argues that reducing funding for Europe’s principal transport infrastructure instrument would undermine the EU’s competitiveness, resilience and cohesion. It calls on leaders to restore the CEF transport envelope to at least the level proposed by the European Commission.
Negotiating box cuts CEF transport envelope
The proposal at the centre of the letter is the Irish Presidency’s negotiating box for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028 to 2034. According to the letter, the box cuts the overall EU budget by 8% compared with the Commission’s proposal, from €1,763.1 billion to €1,622.0 billion in 2025 prices.
The figures cited in the letter are drawn from the Council of the EU’s negotiating box, document 13922/26, dated 10 October 2026. The letter followed four days later. The European Commission’s proposal, against which the cuts are measured, is the benchmark the signatories want leaders to restore.
Transport is hit harder, the signatories say. The CEF transport envelope would fall by 11%, from €45.8 billion to €40.6 billion in 2025 prices. That would leave CEF transport with 2.5% of the overall EU budget and less than €4 billion a year for civilian transport infrastructure across 27 Member States.
The letter warns that each euro cut would leave missing links unbuilt and cause the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) deadlines of 2030 and 2040 to be missed.
Cutting transport funding now would be a false economy.”
Infrastructure as a strategic asset
CER describes transport infrastructure as a strategic asset rather than simply a sectoral policy issue. It argues that modern, well-connected networks strengthen supply chains, support military mobility, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and connect citizens and businesses across the single market. The letter adds that efficient and resilient networks contribute directly to energy security, particularly during supply disruptions.
The letter notes that Europe’s transport infrastructure, including railways, roads, ports, airports and inland waterways, is essential for military mobility, enabling the rapid movement of troops, equipment and critical supplies across the continent.
The letter also points to the scale of the sector. It states that 1.4 million transport companies employ 10.4 million people and generate 4.8% of EU value added, citing European Commission DG MOVE data from July 2026. It adds that every other industry depends on these networks to reach its markets. It also cites Commission studies indicating that completing the TEN-T core network would add 1.8% to EU GDP and create 10 million jobs by 2030. The footnote attributes the TEN-T figure to core network corridor studies presented at TEN-T Days in Riga in 2015.
CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola said: “The Connecting Europe Facility is already heavily oversubscribed, while the investment needed to complete the Trans-European Transport Network still runs into the hundreds of billions of euros. Cutting transport funding now would be a false economy.”
Mazzola also pointed to the economic return from rail investment. “In terms of gross value added to the economy, rail has a multiplying effect of 3.7 and a job multiplier factor of 3.6. When Europe invests in a railway, it is not simply building tracks; it is connecting regions, creating opportunities for businesses, improving access to services and strengthening resilience in times of crisis. Europe must match its ambitions with the investment needed to deliver them.”
The open letter builds on the work of a longstanding coalition of transport organisations advocating for a stronger EU transport budget and a future Connecting Europe Facility of at least €100 billion. The coalition describes transport investment as a prerequisite for Europe’s economic, environmental and strategic objectives.
Three requests to EU leaders
The signatories make three specific requests of EU leaders. First, restore the CEF transport envelope to at least the level proposed by the Commission. Second, ring-fence a minimum share for transport in the National and Regional Partnership Plans, so that TEN-T sections are not crowded out by short-term priorities. Third, open the European Competitiveness Fund explicitly to transport, as a complement to dedicated infrastructure funding rather than a substitute for it.
The letter is addressed to the Heads of State or Government of the EU Member States, with António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, copied in.
The letter directly challenges leaders over their earlier positions. It states: “You endorsed the Draghi diagnosis; you cannot now defund the investment it calls for.”
The letter adds that the choices made in the coming weeks will shape Europe’s networks until 2034 and beyond. It then states: “Competitiveness, decarbonisation and defense will be built on infrastructure, or not at all.” It closes with: “We count on your personal leadership.”
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