The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) today welcomed the draft report on the future Connecting Europe Facility (CEF III) prepared by co-rapporteurs Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez and Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, which will be discussed in the joint TRAN-ITRE meeting on 15 April. ESPO particularly appreciates the report's recognition of the strategic importance of European ports for competitiveness, resilience, and their geostrategic role as cross-border multimodal nodes, trade gateways, industrial clusters, military mobility hubs, and energy hubs.
ESPO's endorsement comes amid ongoing EU efforts to boost transport infrastructure funding. On 11 November 2025, Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas proposed increasing the CEF budget from €25 billion to €51.5 billion starting in 2028 to accelerate completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The draft report now under discussion builds on that proposal, with ESPO stressing that the strength of the future CEF will depend on its budget. ESPO Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost urged Member States to give the CEF the budget it needs, noting that transport and port infrastructure investments are key to addressing decarbonisation, energy transition, and security challenges.
ESPO supports the co-rapporteurs' approach to use CEF military mobility support not only for 500 hotspot projects but also for ports identified as strategic dual-use infrastructure by Member States. Crucially, ESPO argues that ports without formal TEN-T status but strategically important for military mobility should be eligible for CEF funding. It also calls for applying the geo-strategic criterion from the latest TEN-T review to systematically add such ports to the TEN-T network, ensuring strategic recognition and long-term planning certainty.
The organisation appreciates the draft report's focus on transparency and predictability via multi-annual work programmes with indicative timetables and budgetary amounts per sector. ESPO supports dedicated budgetary amounts per transport mode to help port authorities prepare better applications. It also backs the proposal to allow CEF support for infrastructure maintenance, essential for long-term performance and resilience. Regarding cross-border energy infrastructure, ESPO emphasises that the scope should include CO2 transport infrastructure, a key element for industrial decarbonisation.
While ESPO understands the co-rapporteurs' proposal to increase Member States' role in cross-border sections, it notes that such requirements are less relevant for port projects. The organisation stands ready to engage further with the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs as the process continues.
This development follows Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné's 13 April statement seeking clearer accountability for the European Competitiveness Fund's impact and coordination, and Commissioner Tzitzikostas' 14 November 2025 proposal for a comprehensive European tourism strategy. The draft report's emphasis on ports' strategic role aligns with the broader push to strengthen EU competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment.