Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Commission to invest €865 million to support fast and secure digital connectivity networks in Europe.
The European Commission has assumed the second Work Programme for the digital part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital, which illustrates the scope and objectives of EU-funded actions to enhance Europe’s digital connectivity infrastructures. These actions will receive approximately €865 million of allocation from 2024 to 2027.
What are the goals of the second CEF Digital Work Programme?
Commission states that improving Europe’s connectivity infrastructure is essential for achieving Europe’s 2030 Digital Decade goals to connect all citizens and businesses with 5G and gigabit connectivity. By encouraging public and private investments, CEF Digital assists in connectivity schemes of common EU interest and the deployment of safe, secure and endurable high-performance infrastructure, such as Gigabit and 5G networks, across the EU.
What challenges does CEF Digital aim to tackle in Europe’s infrastructure?
The second CEF Digital Work Programme will assist in stimulating the competitiveness of the European digital ecosystem, to manage the critical geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges stressed, among others, by the White Paper “How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?”.
How does CEF Digital address the geopolitical challenges Europe faces?
CEF Digital also seeks to increase the capacity, security, and stability of digital backbone networks, in special submarine cables. Moreover, it will assist in leveraging public and private resources to tackle the investment void that hinders the rollout of high-performance networks, important for the take-up of advanced technologies by citizens and businesses.
Moreover, with a funding of up to €2 billion until 2027, under the Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme, the first two batches of calls so far financed 65 schemes, including 30 backbone connectivity projects for the Digital Global Gateways, 17 projects advancing 5G for Smart Communities, and 18 projects in the dimensions of 5G cross-border corridors.
CEF Digital backs Europe’s digital transformation and it is part of the overall Connecting Europe Facility programme, which funds investment in trans-European digital, transport and energy networks, worth €33.7 billion from 2021 to 2027.
