EU officials met in Verona last week to sign a series of financial commitments that will bring two key European rail projects a step forward.
The EU's vice-president for transport, Antonio Tajani, signed financing decisions worth a total of €1.7bn that will ensure the future of important railway works in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary.
The bulk of financing has been dedicated to the Brenner Base tunnel, which links Austria and Italy, with €592m set aside for construction works and €93m for studies.
The construction of the Mont Cenis Tunnel and railway line between Lyon in France and Turin in Italy also received significant funding, with €4.7m set to provide an access route to the base tunnel in France and €671,800 for studies and works on the cross-border section.
Tajani said that he was proud to be investing in key European transport infrastructure.
"Today is a demonstration that the EU can respond to the economic crisis, in the short term by accelerating infrastructure projects, and in the medium term by creating the core rail network that will sustain Europe's competitiveness and meet the challenge of climate change," he said.
Financing also went to works on the rail line between Trieste in Italy and Divaca in Slovenia.
The financing decisions were conducted under the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-Ts) programme for the period 2007–2013.
By Daniel Garrun.
