Key transport projects intended to increase connectivity of people and goods across the European Union by 2030 are well behind schedule despite the €15.3 billion invested from EU funds since 2020, the latest report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published on Monday reveals.

The bloc’s legislation designed to improve transport networks, the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), was adopted in 2013, but suffered major setbacks first from the COVID pandemic and then Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which led to a massive surge in energy and construction prices.

The EU auditors write that the eight megaprojects previously assessed in 2020 and again in the latest report had experienced an overall real cost increase of 47% against original estimates.

Data from 2025 shows that costs have increased further to more than 82%, with two of the audited projects contributing most to the drastic cost gap: Rail Baltica, intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network, and the Lyon-Turin rail link, intended to link the Italian and French high-speed rail networks.

The EU executive’s oversight of the completion of the core network corridors by the member states “remained distant”, the auditors’ report says, arguing that the Commission should have been more proactive in light of a 2020 ECA report that flagged major delays, cost increases, and weaknesses in the Commission’s supervision.

“We also provided the Commission with a set of recommendations aimed at improving the financial management of the EU co-funding going to megaprojects,” reads the ECA report.

Fragmented continent

Failure to deliver TEN-T badly undermines the EU’s 2030 targets since transport is central to Europe’s economy and climate goals. Delayed rail, waterways, and clean infrastructure keep emissions high, threatening the bloc’s aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Moreover, fragmented and inefficient transport will inevitably lead to higher costs for businesses and consumers and reduce trade opportunities across the EU.

Even though the upward trend has slowed down in recent years, EU auditors say, construction costs of the Canal Seine Nord Europe have tripled in total since the project began.

“EU transport flagship infrastructures are supposed to reshape Europe, bringing people closer together and facilitating economic activity”, said Annemie Turtelboom, the ECA member leading the report.

“But three decades after most of them were designed, we are still a long way from cutting the ribbon on these projects, and a long way from achieving the intended improvements in passenger and freight flows across Europe.”

EU auditors have assessed eight major projects in their latest report. Among them are four railways, Rail Baltica, Lyon-Turin, Brenner Base Tunnel and Basque Y; one waterway, Seine-Scheldt; one motorway, the A1 in Romania; and two multimodal connections, the Fehmarn Belt road/rail link and the E59 rail link to ports in Poland.

These megaprojects directly involve 13 EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Romania and Finland.

“The conclusion is unambiguous: the 2030 objective for the completion of the EU TEN-T core network will undoubtedly be missed,” EU auditors said.

Repeated delays

An average delay of 11 years against original deadlines was noted in the ECA’s 2020 report on the TEN-T’s implementation. The 2025 report reveals that the situation has worsened, with an average delay of 17 years for five of the assessed projects.

The Basque Y railway line, which was supposed to be operational by 2010 according to its initial timeline and by 2023 according to the revised plan from 2020, is now expected to be ready by 2030 at the very earliest.

The opening of the Lyon-Turin rail link is now forecast for 2033, rather than the original goal of 2015 or revised one of 2030; the Brenner Base Tunnel is now expected to open at the earliest in 2032, not in 2016 or 2028.

The Canal Nord Seine Europe, meanwhile, was initially scheduled to commence operations in 2010, and was postponed to 2028. 2032 is now considered more likely.

Timeline of a failure

The TEN-T was proposed in the early 1990s as part of the EU’s effort to strengthen the internal market and improve connectivity across member states. Its initial guidelines were adopted in 1996, focusing on a list of priority projects mainly for major cross-border infrastructure.

Over time, the policy evolved to address gaps, bottlenecks, and technical fragmentation, especially in rail, inland waterways, ports, and intelligent transport systems. A major reform in 2013 introduced a two-layer structure, defining routes to be completed by 2030 and a more comprehensive route to be finished by 2050.

The latest revision in 2024 was designed to align the TEN-T with the bloc’s European Green Deal and defence goals.

“The agreement falls short of our expectations and raises concerns about the real commitment of member states to create a functioning European transport network,” said former lawmaker Barbara Thaler (European People’s Party/Austria) after the last TEN-T’s revision, noting that national priorities jeopardise shared European goals.

“The impracticalities imposed on cargo trains create even more disparity between rail and other modes of transport. It goes against the EU’s commitment to shift traffic from road to rail,” the former Austrian lawmaker said.

Back in 2024, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) said that completing the TEN-T required “massive investments” – €500 billion by 2030 and €1,500 billion by 2050.

“The new Connecting Europe Facility, the EU’s dedicated funding instrument, should be increased to at least €100 billion under the next long-term EU budget plan (2028-2035) and be complemented with other funds to be able to meet the new TEN-T targets and completion deadlines,” a CER statement said.