The Connecting Europe Facility, known by the abbreviation CEF, funds cross-border infrastructure in three areas: transport, energy and digital networks. In transport, this means railways, roads, waterways and terminals on the main European corridors; in energy, grid interconnections, hydrogen infrastructure and networks for renewable sources; in the digital part, high-speed connectivity and both submarine and terrestrial backbone networks. Applicants are generally state organisations, infrastructure managers, large enterprises, and local governments for larger projects. It is a directly managed programme, so applications are submitted to the European Commission, and competition is not limited to Slovakia alone. Preparation is demanding and requires advanced project and permitting documentation already at the time of submission.
See also: Infrastructure project, Cross-border project.
