The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) instrument, with a budget of over 29 billion euro for the period 2014-2020, supports trans-European networks and infrastructures projects in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy.

The general objectives of CEF, managed by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), are to promote economic, social and territorial cohesion; strengthen the creation of the single European market, and free movement of people and goods; accelerate the implementation and completion of the infrastructures necessary to achieve the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy and the “20-20-20” targets on energy and climate change.

CEF Telecom (CEF-TC-2015-1)

The telecommunications part of CEF has an overall budget of 1.04 billion euro, out of which 170 million euro are for Broadband networks, while 870 million euro are dedicated to Digital Service Infrastructures (DSIs) delivering networked cross-border services for citizens, businesses and public administrations. Supported projects will contribute to the creation of a European ecosystem of interoperable and interconnected digital services that sustain the Digital Single Market.

On October 30th, the European Commission has launched the first four calls for proposals under the 2015 CEF Telecom, making available 28.7 million euro of EU funding to improve the interoperability and interconnectivity of the European digital service ecosystem.
Interested applicants from all EU Member States, plus Iceland and Norway, may submit their proposals in the following areas:

• eDelivery: allowing for the secured, traceable cross-border transmission of electronic documents – €1 million
• eInvoicing: enabling secure electronic exchange of invoices – €7 million
• Public Open Data: generating value through re-use of public sector information – €4.5 million
• Safer Internet for the children: empowering and protecting children and young people online – €16.2 million

The second wave of call – for proposals on eProcurement; eHealth Generic Services; eIdentification and eSignature (eID) and Online Dispute Resolution Generic Services (ODR) – will be published indicatively on 17 November 2015.

The following types of applicants are eligible for funding:

– One or more Member States;

– With the agreement of the Member States concerned, international organisations, joint undertakings, or public or private undertakings or bodies established in Member States.

Any applicant that cannot provide the agreement of the EU Member State or EEA country concerned will not be eligible.

To receive co-funding, actions must be ready for deployment, contribute to EU single market policies and have a long-term sustainability strategy. The European co-financing rate varies according to the call between 50% and 75% of eligible expenditure.

Project proposals must be submitted electronically using the TENtec Information System eSubmission module, by the deadline of 19 January 2016.

Detailed information on these calls is available on the INEA dedicated page:
http://ec.europa.eu/inea/connecting-europe-facility/cef-telecom/apply-funding/cef-telecom-calls-proposals-2015