The rejection decision of the EU CEF-funding of West Railway was expected

The rejection of EU funding does not indicate the financial unprofitability of the project, but, among other things, its suitability for the call of proposals in question.

Recently, there has been a discussion (for example HS 29.7.) about why the West Railway did not receive EU support. According to publicly available information, the maturity of the project was not sufficient.

Already in the spring, it was known that the permits and funding required for the implementation of the West Railway were not yet ready. A negative decision was expected.

The evaluation of EU projects is based on a very strict set of criteria. They is based on the EU’s guidelines and work programs, but in practice, every application call also has very precise criteria for that particular call, on the basis of which the projects are evaluated.

The rejection of EU funding does not indicate the financial unprofitability of the project, but, among other things, its suitability for the call in question, the maturity of the project and the quality of the application. In assessing profitability, the project’s predicted future demand and environmental aspects have a big impact, among other things.

Many good projects remain unfunded because they do not match the criteria of the call at that particular time. In addition, the application may be open too early in terms of the project, when the required plans and permits are not yet available, or too late, when the project is already underway.

Finland should not let receiving the EU funding influence its transport policy too much, but we should implement our own projects in accordance with our own goals. In addition, it should be noted that the maximum support received from the EU is 30 percent for construction and 50 percent for planning, the rest must be paid by ourselves.

On the other hand, we must have enough know-how so that when the opportunity arises, we know how to apply for funding at the right time and with the right criteria.

Ulla Tapaninen
professor, acted as external evaluator of CEF projects since 2018
Helsinki

The opinion text was published in Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish on August 15, 2024.