European Commission
European Commission

Community financing

Terms and conditions on rules on financial aid to the TEN-T

Regulation (EC) No 680/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of the trans-European transport and energy networks.

Actions underway in the field of transport and energy on the date of application of this Regulation shall continue to be subject to Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 in the version in force on 31 December 2006.

The main terms are as follows:

• Projects of common interest co-financed by Member States and identified within the framework of the guidelines referred to under Article 155(1) of the Treaty.

• Applications for Community financial aid shall be submitted to the Commission by one or more Member States or, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, by international organisations, joint undertakings, or public or private undertakings or bodies.

• The concept of "project" includes parts of projects that are technically and financially independent and form a whole designed to fulfil an economic and technical function.

Forms of aid :

• co-financing of studies related to projects, including preparatory, feasibility and evaluation studies, and other technical support measures for these studies;

• direct grants to works in duly justifies cases;

• grants for works in the framework of availability payment schemes;

• interest rate rebates on loans given by the EIB or other public or private financial institutions;

• a financial contribution to the provisioning and capital allocation for guarantees to be issued by the EIB on its own resources under the loan guarantee instrument;

• risk capital participation for investment funds or comparable financial undertakings with a priority focus on providing risk capital for trans-European network projects and involving substantial private sector investment; such risk-capital participation shall not exceed 1 % of the budgetary resources set out in Article 18;

• a financial contribution to the project-related activities of joint undertakings.

Project selection criteria

Community aid is granted on a priority basis to projects according to their contribution to the objectives set out in Article 129b of the Treaty and to the other objectives and priorities defined in the guidelines referred to in Article 129c(1) of the Treaty. It is intended for projects that are potentially economically viable and for which the financial profitability at the time of application is deemed insufficient. The decision to grant Community assistance should also take account of:

• the maturity of the project,

• the stimulating effect on public and private finance,
• the soundness of the financial package,
• direct or indirect socio-economic effects, 
• the environmental consequences,
• the need to overcome financial obstacles,
• the complexity of the project.

Especially in the case of cross-border projects, the Member States concerned have given the Commission all necessary guarantees regarding the financial viability of the project and the timetable for carrying it out.

Applications for financial aid must be submitted to the Commission through the intermediary of the Member State concerned or by the body directly concerned with the agreement of the Member State. The Regulation stipulates the information required for the assessment and identification of applications (e.g. name of the body responsible, the type of assistance envisaged and a description of the project concerned).

Financial provisions: eligible expenditure and method of payment.

Financial control is carried out by Member States. Without prejudice to this control work, the Commission may send officials or staff to carry out spot checks on the projects financed. The Commission may reduce, suspend or cancel financial aid in the event of irregularities, or if one of the conditions specified in the decision granting the financial aid has not been met.

Cooperation to evaluate systematically progress with projects. The Commission has created the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) that is entrusted with the management of the Community funds available for the promotion of the Trans-European transport network.

In implementing this Regulation, the Commission is assisted by a Committee composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.