Inland Ports join the call for a Stronger EU Transport Funding in Joint Open Letter to Member States
24 February 2026
Brussels, 24 February 2026 – The European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP), together with 44 other European transport organisations, urges national governments to strengthen European funding for transport under the future EU budget and particularly to increase the budget of the future Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to at least €100 billion.
A robust European transport network is of crucial importance in responding to Europe’s strategic objectives. Only with strong and state-of-the-art transport infrastructure at its core, will Europe be able to ramp up its resilience and military preparedness, reinforce its industrial competitiveness and safeguard its supply chain sovereignty. The sector stands ready to deliver but cannot do so without adequate support.
While the ambitions and the investment needs are high, the sector continues to struggle with pressing underfunding and financing gaps. This trend of continued underfunding of the transport sector must be reversed and the EU Member States must set the bar high.
As such, if Europe is to succeed in its strategic priorities of a strong, resilient and competitive Union, it needs a robust European transport network providing the necessary fundament. This must be reflected in the future EU budget. With another round of discussions on the Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034 coming up during the General Affairs Council taking place on 24 February, all the signatory European transport organisations in an open letter ask the General Affairs and Finance Ministers to safeguard sufficient EU budget for transport under the future MFF and particularly strengthen the future CEF instrument. European support to the sector is now more pertinent than ever.
Inland Ports: Strategic Gateways for a Resilient Europe
The open letter highlights the central role transport plays in Europe’s industrial ecosystem. As multimodal hubs linking inland waterways with rail and road networks, inland ports are critical for:
- Securing resilient and diversified supply chains;
- Supporting Europe’s industrial base and energy transition;
- Enabling military mobility and strategic preparedness;
- Contributing to the EU’s climate and modal shift objectives.
“Inland ports serve as key nodes of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), ensuring the smooth flow of goods between seaports, industrial clusters and urban centres. Their ability to handle large volumes of freight in a low-emission and energy-efficient manner makes them indispensable to Europe’s competitiveness and sustainability ambitions. But their ability to do is dependent on sufficient support”. says EFIP Director Turi Fiorito
Investment Gaps Threaten Delivery
Despite their strategic importance, inland ports and the wider inland waterway sector face persistent underinvestment. Ageing infrastructure, climate-related challenges such as low water levels, and increasing demands for digitalisation and alternative fuel infrastructure require substantial and predictable EU support.
While inland ports stand ready to deliver on Europe’s strategic, economic and environmental objectives, EFIP stresses that this can only be achieved if funding instruments match political ambitions. A strengthened CEF is therefore essential to close existing financing gaps and accelerate critical infrastructure upgrades.
Background information on EFIP:
The European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) brings together more than 200 inland ports and port authorities in 17 countries of the European Union, Switzerland and Ukraine. Since 1994, EFIP has been the voice of the inland ports in Europe. EFIP highlights and promotes the role of inland ports.
EFIP actively follows all developments in the field of EU policy of importance to inland ports and represents the inland ports vis-à-vis the European institutions and other international bodies. EFIP offers its members the possibility to exchange information, expertise and best practices with colleagues in other countries.
For further information, please contact the Secretariat: +32 2 219 82 07 - info@inlandports.be
Check out our new website: www.inlandports.eu
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