Brussels,

Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)

MOBILITY & TRANSPORT

The TEN-T policy is a cornerstone of the EU's efforts to develop a cohesive, efficient, and high-quality transport infrastructure, encompassing railways, inland waterways, maritime routes, and roads connecting key urban and logistical nodes. The policy is anchored in Regulation (EU) 2024/1679.

Its objectives include:

To elevate the safety, sustainability, speed, and convenience of the EU's transport network. It encourages a shift towards trains for passenger travel and promotes the use of rail, inland waterways, and short sea shipping for freight transport.
Infrastructure Improvements: The Regulation measures to address missing links and modernize the network. Notably, it sets quality standards such as enabling major TEN-T passenger rail lines to support speeds of 160 km/h or faster by 2040, ensuring good navigation conditions for canals and rivers, enhancing trans-shipment terminals, and enabling piggy-back services on the TEN-T rail network.
Urban Mobility: Major cities are encouraged to formulate sustainable urban action plans focusing on zero-emission mobility to support the transition towards more sustainable urban transport systems.
Extended Core Network: The Regulation introduces an extended core network, slated for completion by 2040. This addition aims to supplement the existing core and comprehensive networks.
European Transport Corridors: The Regulation envisions merging the core network corridors with the rail freight corridors to form European Transport Corridors, fostering a more integrated and efficient transport network across Europe.

Click to read

The Regulation foreseens a possible extends corridors to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and the Commission could act with delegated acts, and accelerates a change towards the European standard railway gauge to help create an interoperable EU railway system.

Network Structure

The trans-European transport network is designed according to an objective methodology:

Core Network: The most critical connections, required to meet the highest standards and to be completed by 2030.
Comprehensive Network: Connects all EU regions to the core network, to be completed by 2050.
Extended Core Network: An intermediary layer proposed in the revised TEN-T Regulation, to be completed by 2040.

Core Network Corridors and Horizontal Priorities

Nine Corridors and Two Priorities: Facilitate the network's completion, with European Coordinators overseeing and promoting the TEN-T policy. The European Coordinators are key for the governance of the TEN-T

Legislation and Actions

A. Streamlining Directive: Simplifies administrative processes for cross-border infrastructure permitting. The Trans-European Transport network (TEN-T) holds substantial promise for environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, and connectivity enhancement. However, the intricacies of the procedural requirements have historically impeded the swift implementation of TEN-T, notably in cross-border projects.

To address these challenges, the Directive 2021/1187, focusing on streamlining measures for advancing the TEN-T, was enacted on 9 August 2021. The directive's primary objective is to bolster coordination and effectively realize pivotal TEN-T core network projects by demystifying and streamlining the procedures related to permit granting and public procurement.

Key Provisions of the Directive 2021/1187:

Scope: The directive specifically targets pre-identified cross-border projects and missing links within the core network corridors, as well as corridor projects exceeding €300 million.
Designated Authorities: Member States are mandated to appoint a single Designated Authority for each project or permit-granting procedure to centralize and streamline the process.
Simplified Procedures: The directive introduces simplified procedures, capping the permit granting authorization timeline at 4 years to expedite project realization.
Transparency and Clarity: It ensures that the permit-granting procedures are more transparent and understandable for both project promoters and relevant authorities.
Enhanced Coordination: The directive emphasizes better coordination for cross-border permit granting and procurement, aiming to alleviate procedural bottlenecks and foster collaboration.
Minimizing Delays: National authorities are required to prioritize projects encompassed by the Streamlining Directive in their granting procedures to minimize delays. However, projects with permit-granting procedures initiated before 10 August 2023, the transposition deadline, are exempt from the Streamlining Directive.
Further to the enactment of this directive, DG MOVE (Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport) conducted workshops with Member States focusing on the transposition of the Streamlining Directive. As a result, DG MOVE has formulated Guidelines on its application and compiled a non-paper highlighting the challenges and best practices observed during the transposition of the directive, providing a roadmap for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of TEN-T project implementations.

B. Military Mobility: Aims for rapid and seamless movement of military assets, ensuring the network serves both military and civilian needs. The EU supports this through the Action Plan on Military Mobility 2.0, with funding instruments like the Connecting Europe Facility and the European Defence Fund.

Overall, the TEN-T policy reflects the EU's ambition for a modern, high-performing transport network, driving economic growth, enhancing connectivity, and ensuring sustainability and safety in the transport sector.

Helping the implementation of the TEN-T

The implementation of the Trans-European Transport network (TEN-T) holds substantial environmental, economic, and connectivity advantages, but the complexity of the procedures involved has led to delays, particularly for cross-border projects. To address these issues, the Directive 2021/1187 was enacted on 9 August 2021, aiming to streamline the realization of key TEN-T core network projects by clarifying permit granting and public procurement processes.

Key aspects of the Directive 2021/1187 include:

Scope: Targets pre-identified cross-border and missing links within the core network corridors and corridor projects exceeding €300 million.
Designated Authority: Mandates Member States to appoint a single Designated Authority for each project or permit granting procedure, ensuring centralized and coherent oversight.
Simplified Procedures: Caps the permit granting authorization process at 4 years to expedite the commencement of significant projects.
Transparency and Clarity: Establishes clearer permit granting procedures, benefiting both project promoters and authorities and enhancing mutual understanding.
Cross-Border Coordination: Improves coordination for cross-border permit granting and procurement, addressing a major bottleneck in project implementation.
Priority Handling: Requires national authorities to prioritize projects covered by the Streamlining Directive in granting procedures to minimize delays.
Non-Applicability: Excludes projects where permit-granting procedures commenced before 10 August 2023, aligning with the deadline for the Directive's transposition.

Post-implementation, DG MOVE conducted workshops with Member States, resulting in the development of guidelines for the Directive's application and a non-paper outlining challenges and best practices in its transposition. This proactive approach signifies the EU's commitment to ensuring the efficient and effective realization of the TEN-T, ultimately enhancing Europe's transport infrastructure and connectivity.

9 EU Corridors and 2 horizontal priorities

Click to enlarge

The establishment of nine core network corridors and two horizontal priorities under the TEN-T policy is a strategic approach by the European Union to streamline and expedite the development of a comprehensive and efficient trans-European transport network. The parts of the map pertaining to corridor alignment in third countries are indicative.

Here's an overview of their existence and the role of European Coordinators:

Purpose of Core Network Corridors:
- These corridors serve as the backbone of the TEN-T's core network, facilitating major traffic flows across Europe in critical directions, both east-west and north-south.
- The integration of these corridors with rail freight corridors aims to create a more cohesive and efficient European Transport Corridor system, as proposed in the legislative proposal of December 2021.
Significance of Horizontal Priorities:
- The two horizontal priorities, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and Motorways of the Sea, address specific aspects of transport infrastructure that are crucial across the entire network.
- ERTMS focuses on enhancing rail traffic management across Europe, while Motorways of the Sea aim to improve maritime transport and logistics.
Role of European Coordinators:
- Eleven European Coordinators oversee the development and implementation of the TEN-T corridors and horizontal priorities.
- Acting as facilitators, they guide the implementation process, involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders to ensure a harmonious and efficient development of the network.
- Their primary task is to coordinate decisions and actions among Member States and other relevant parties, aligning efforts towards the successful completion of the TEN-T.

In essence, the nine corridors, along with the two horizontal priorities, are designed to ensure that the TEN-T network effectively addresses the diverse transport needs of the European Union, promoting connectivity, sustainability, and economic growth. The European Coordinators play a pivotal role in this ambitious endeavor, driving the coordination and implementation of these strategic transport routes.

Atlantic corridor

Enter

Baltic - Adriatic corridor

Enter

Mediterranean corridor

Enter

North Sea - Baltic corridor

Enter

North Sea - Rhine Mediterranean corridor

Enter

Western Balkans - Eastern Mediterranean

Enter

Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Aegean Sea

Enter

Rhine - Danube corridor

Enter

Scandinavian - Mediterranean corridor

Enter

European Maritime Space

Enter

European Rail Traffic Management System

Enter

TENtec Information System

TENtec is the European Commission's advanced information system designed to coordinate and support the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy effectively.

It operates on two primary pillars:

Policy-Related Functions:
- Stores and manages technical, geographical, and financial data.
- Data is analyzed and utilized in managing TEN-T, political decision-making related to TEN-T, and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding program.
Grant Management Functions:
- Facilitates the entire grant management workflow, from proposal submission to the issuance of grant agreements, under the supervision of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA).

TENtec plays a pivotal role in compiling information, generating timely reports and maps, and thereby enhancing transparency, data quality, and providing a systematic overview of policy developments, budget execution, and technical implementation for each TEN-T/CEF project.

Key Features and Functions of TENtec:

Developed in collaboration with Member States and key stakeholders.
Serves as a bridge for transport modeling needs, including future policy and budgetary scenarios.
Maps TEN-T/CEF co-funded projects, alternative fuel infrastructure, and secure and safe parking areas.
Crucial for Core Network Corridor studies, offering essential data collection services and compliance maps.

TENtec Public Portal:

Offers interactive maps, a map library, and various audiovisual elements to the public, aiming to raise awareness about the TEN-T policy's benefits.

TENtec Private Portal Modules:

OMC: OMC (Open Method of Coordination-platform) Collects and updates technical and financial data, allows creation of interactive multi-functional maps, and facilitates a shared workspace for data input and validation with Member States. See also OMC Manual and OMC Glossary.
iReport: Gathers financial data on previous TEN-T Priority Projects to generate the annual “Progress Report on the implementation of Priority Projects” and supports a shared workspace for data collaboration with Member States.

For further information or assistance, TENtec can be contacted at [email protected], providing an accessible point of communication for inquiries and support.

TEN-T Revision

Click to read

The revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation, introduced by the Proposal for a Regulation COM(2021) 812 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, aligns with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, aiming to pivot the transport sector towards a significant reduction in emissions, with a target of a 90% cut. The revision addresses the urgency to enhance connectivity, bolster the resilience of the transport system, transition more passengers and freight to sustainable transport modes, and emphasize sustainable urban mobility.

Key Aspects of the Commission's Proposal:

Initial Legislative Proposal: Made in December 2021, the proposal seeks to elevate the safety, sustainability, speed, and convenience of the EU's transport network. It encourages a shift towards trains for passenger travel and promotes the use of rail, inland waterways, and short sea shipping for freight transport.
Infrastructure Improvements: The proposal includes measures to address missing links and modernize the network. Notably, it sets quality standards such as enabling major TEN-T passenger rail lines to support speeds of 160 km/h or faster by 2040, ensuring good navigation conditions for canals and rivers, enhancing trans-shipment terminals, and enabling piggy-back services on the TEN-T rail network.
Urban Mobility: Major cities are encouraged to formulate sustainable urban action plans focusing on zero-emission mobility to support the transition towards more sustainable urban transport systems.
Extended Core Network: The proposal introduces an extended core network, slated for completion by 2040. This addition aims to supplement the existing core and comprehensive networks.
European Transport Corridors: The proposal envisions merging the core network corridors with the rail freight corridors to form European Transport Corridors, fostering a more integrated and efficient transport network across Europe.

As a reaction to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Commission made an amended proposal in July 2022. The Commission thereby proposed to extend four corridors to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and to accelerate a change towards the European standard railway gauge to help create an interoperable EU railway system.