External Borders: studies, works or mixed
Modernise TEN-T external border transport infrastructure to improve rail and road traffic flows, prioritising existing border crossing points and TEN-T corridors.
This call funds projects to upgrade transport infrastructure at EU external borders on the TEN-T network. It supports works and studies improving rail and road connections, parking, and traffic flow at border crossing points. Priority is given to existing border crossings and projects on TEN-T corridors.
Likely relevant for
- Transport infrastructure authorities
- Rail and road infrastructure project developers
- TEN-T corridor coordinators
- Border crossing point managers
- Public bodies managing transport infrastructure
Project signals
What it funds
- Works and/or studies to improve transport infrastructure at TEN-T external border crossing points
- Rail projects facilitating traffic flows and interoperability at border crossings
- Upgrading parking spaces, waiting areas, and road lane capacity related to border controls
- Smart IT solutions integrated into transport infrastructure to facilitate border checks
Expected outcomes
- Improved traffic flow for rail and road transport at EU external borders
- Enhanced interoperability and coordination at border crossing points
- Upgraded parking and waiting facilities for freight transport
- Facilitation of coordinated bi-directional border controls
Who can apply / participate
- Public authorities
- Transport infrastructure managers
- Consortia including eligible entities
- Consortium requirements detailed in call document
- Projects must be located on the TEN-T external borders within eligible countries
- Only transport infrastructure projects are eligible
- Border check equipment supported only if integrated in wider infrastructure projects
- Administrative buildings and mobile equipment are not eligible
- Specific eligible countries and consortium composition must be checked in call document
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of specific infrastructure components
- Consortium composition and country eligibility
- Funding rates and budget limits
Money
Total budget of approximately EUR 20 million for 2026 under CEF Infrastructure Projects.
- Total available budget — 20000000EURFor the year 2026
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per call document and application form
- Eligibility and admissibility conditions detailed in call document section 6
- Financial and operational capacity requirements in call document section 7
- Evaluation criteria and award process described in call document section 8 and 9
- Legal and financial set-up of grants in call document section 10
- Prepare proposal according to call document and application form templates
- Submit proposal via Funding & Tenders Portal before deadline
- Ensure compliance with eligibility and admissibility criteria
- Coordinate with relevant cross-border cooperation programmes if applicable
- Border check equipment only supported if part of wider infrastructure project
- Mobile equipment and administrative buildings not eligible
- Projects must ensure non-discriminatory access to infrastructure
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 2 Jul 2026, 08:11 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Objective: The objective of this call is to modernise transport infrastructure on the TEN-T network with the purpose of facilitating traffic flows for rail and road transport at border control areas at the Union external border of the TEN-T network. Scope: Works and / or studies related to: Projects, targeting only the transport infrastructure, which will inter alia improve the rail and road connections to the border crossing points, as well as parking lines and spaces related to the border controls. Support will be given to rail projects facilitating traffic flows at the TEN-T Border Crossing Points (BCPs) including as regards interoperability. Support will also be given to the upgrade of parking spaces for trucks, of waiting areas and of road lane capacity from the parking spaces to the border control points and between them, provided that it facilitates traffic flows at the Union external border. Border check equipment and facilities cannot be supported, in principle, as a stand-alone project. However, certain border check equipment, such as smart IT solutions which facilitate and/or accelerate border checks and alleviate congestion at border crossing points, or fixed devices integrated into the transport infrastructure, may be supported in case they form part of a wider project concerning the adaptation of transport infrastructure. Mobile equipment cannot be supported. Administrative buildings, storage and warehouse facilities, as well as parking facilities for border officers cannot be supported. Priority will be given to the upgrading of existing border crossing points to allow the implementation of coordinated bi-directional controls. Priority will be given to projects located on the TEN-T European Transport Corridors. Where appropriate, the applicants should ensure coordination with relevant Interreg Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance – Cross-Border Cooperation programmes. In case a proposal combines studies and works components, these must address different sections / activities. Facilities and infrastructure supported under CEF must be accessible for use by all operators on a non-discriminatory basis.
Conditions and documents
Conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in section 5 of the call document.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible countries
described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other eligibility conditions
described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in section 10 of the call document.
Call document and annexes:
Application form templates
Standard application form — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Detailed budget table per WP (CEF)
Additional documents:
Support information
For help related to this call, please contact CINEA-CEF-TRANSPORT-CALLS@ec.europa.eu Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals . IT Helpdesk – Contact the IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. Online Manual – Step-by-step online guide through the Portal processes from proposal preparation and evaluation to reporting on your ongoing project. Valid for all 2021-2027 programmes
Raw budget overview
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"2026"
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"114864": [
{
"action": "CEF-T-2026-SAFEMOBGEN-EXTBORDER-WORKS - CEF-INFRA CEF Infrastructure Projects",
"expectedGrants": 0,
"minContribution": 0,
"maxContribution": 0,
"budgetYearMap": {
"2026": "20000000"
},
"plannedOpeningDate": "2026-06-18",
"deadlineModel": "single-stage",
"deadlineDates": [
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}
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}
}