53 projects selected for up to €274 million under third CEF Digital calls

The Commission has selected 53 projects from the third round of calls for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital programme. The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) is now finalising the signature of the grant agreements, paving the way for projects to receive funding.

Subject to the grant agreements’ signatures, the selected projects will be awarded in total up to €274 million, to deploy cutting-edge digital infrastructure. This will include the roll out of safe, secure and sustainable high-performance 5G for transport corridors (studies and deployment), for Smart Communities and Edge Cloud as well and digital backbone infrastructure (studies and deployment). 

The 53 projects involve a diverse range of 215 partners from 28 countries, demonstrating the EU's commitment to collaboration and innovation.

The projects include cross-border deployment and upgrade of network elements along the TEN-T transport corridors, 5G initiatives for communities such as airports, hospitals, and universities, as well as deployment of backbone terrestrial and submarine cables as well as satellites within and from the EU (incl. overseas countries and territories).

Background

The EU's financial contribution comes in the form of grants with different co-financing rates. The CEF-Digital programme funds both feasibility studies and deployment projects across the EU.

Under the CEF-Digital Programme, €2 billion has been made available from the EU’s 2021-2027 budget to co-fund projects in the Europe. CEF-Digital is part of the larger Connecting Europe Facility programme, which also funds Energy and Transport infrastructure to promote growth, jobs, inclusiveness, and competitiveness.

Next steps

Following the EU Member States’ positive opinion on 19 September 2024, the Commission has adopted a formal selection decision on the list of selected projects. On this basis, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) is currently in the process of implementing the signature of the grant agreements with the selected projects’ applicants.

List of selected projects