Ukraine has become a full-fledged participant in the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program – on November 21, the parliament ratified the relevant agreement. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The CEF program operates within the framework of the Solidarity Roads initiative. According to the Ministry, its implementation will help improve Ukraine’s transport links with the EU and establish exports to Europe as a whole.
The program will also allow attracting EU funding to support the development of trans-European transport, energy, and digital services networks.
In addition, Ukraine, as a participating country, can now apply for projects for grant support from the European Commission (in the amount of 50% of the project cost). Particular emphasis is placed on the implementation of infrastructure projects already approved by the EC to modernize rail and road border crossings with Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia.
We are talking about the following checkpoints:
- Mostyska – Medica
- Yagodin – Dorogusk
- Rava Ruska – Grebenne
- Krakow – Korchova
- Chop – Chierna nad Tyso
- Batyovo – Epereshke
- Chop – Zahon
- Luzhanka – Beregshuran
- Logging – Siret
- Vadul-Siret – Vikshani
The total amount of the grant for the modernization of all checkpoints is over €82 million.
The agreement was signed in Lviv in June 2023 by Oleksandr Kubrakov, Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, Minister of Community Development, Territorial and Infrastructure Development, and Adina Veljan, European Commissioner for Transport. As Adina Veljan noted, the agreement will allow Ukraine to submit applications independently, opening the door to projects that will help modernize the country’s infrastructure and improve its connection with the European Union.
As GMK Center reported earlier, Ukraine and a pool of British companies created a mechanism to facilitate exporters’ access to the Black Sea corridor. In addition, the state cooperates with key global institutions that can provide guarantees for investors to invest in Ukraine now.