On 16 July 2024, the European Commission’s CEF Committee voted to allocate new funding of €300 million to continue building the Seine-Scheldt wide-gauge cross-border river network. This decision follows the submission, in January 2024, of the grant application by the partners of the Seine-Scheldt European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), under the 3rd call for projects of the CEF 2.
Since 2007, the Seine Scheldt river network has benefited from major financial support from the European Union. Through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), its programme for financing infrastructure projects in the energy, transport and telecommunications sectors, Europe had already awarded 4 grants to the project, totalling almost €1.5 billion: €176 million over the period 2007-2013, €539 million over the period 2014-2023 (CEF 1), €276 million over the period 2021-2026 and €506 million over the period 2023-2027 (CEF 2).
This renewed support from the European Union is recognition of the work already carried out by the operators on the Seine-Scheldt network, which is progressing day by day. This 5th grant will enable work to begin on sectors 2 to 6 of the future Canal Seine-Nord Europe over the period 2024-2028.
The members of the EEIG salute and thank the European Commission and its executive agency CINEA for their renewed commitment. This European support will have to be continued and increased in the coming years to ensure that all the links in the network in Belgium and France are completed. At a time when the European Commission’s Implementing Decision, adopted in June 2019 and revised on 10 July 2024 with the agreement of the two States, confirms the objective of ‘completing the Seine-Scheldt project as soon as possible and, in any event, by 2030 at the latest’, financial support from the CEF commensurate with these ambitions and real needs will be more essential than ever.
