Smart and sustainable transport investments in the national recovery and resilience plans

Written by Bozena Destin Bobkova.

Smart and sustainable transport plays a significant role in advancing the EU’s green and digital transitions under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the crisis-response instrument the EU launched to boost EU economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. All EU Member States included transport-related measures in their national recovery and resilience plans. Member States are collectively investing almost €83 billion in smart and sustainable transport, amounting to 12.8  % of the total RRF envelope, underscoring the sector’s strategic importance for decarbonisation, digitalisation, connectivity and economic growth.

The largest contributions to smart and sustainable transport come from Italy (€34.0 billion), Spain (€9. 9 billion) and Germany (€7.6 billion), together accounting for over 60  % of total smart and sustainable transport-related RRF investment. By contrast, several smaller Member States stand out in relative terms: Luxembourg allocates 47.2  % of its national plan to transport investments (€223.2 million), while Malta devotes 30.5  % (€100.2 million).

Rail transport receives the largest share of funding, amounting to nearly €48.9 billion, or 59  % of total transport-related RRF investments. More than €34.4 billion of this supports the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network and the roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System, exceeding the entire Connecting Europe Facility transport budget for 2021–2027. These investments are expected to enhance cross-connectivity, border interoperability, improve rail safety and efficiency, and facilitate modal shift from road to rail.Beyond rail, Member States are investing in a broad mix of measures, including urban transport, alternative fuels infrastructure, support for zero- and low-emission vehicles and cycling.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Smart and sustainable transport investments in the national recovery and resilience plans‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.