by Ewa Kochańska

The timely construction of the European Union's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is crucial to realising its priorities of strengthening and invigorating economic growth and addressing climate change-related challenges.

To measure TEN-T's progress, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) analysed eight Transport Flagship Infrastructures (TFIs) which, together with their access lines, are critical links in the Core Network Corridors.

The ECA's findings show that six of the analysed TFIs will not operate at full capacity by the 2030 deadline. Consequently, the EU's transport network will not be able to deliver the expected socio-economic benefits on time.

The reasons, according to ECA, are rooted in the Member States' varying degree of commitment to the projects, due to political and social changes, and financial mismanagement issues, as well as the European Commission's (COM) limited powers regarding the enforcement of the TEN-T construction.

On the other hand, COM's own assessment sports a more optimistic view of TEN-T development.

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