Investing into walking and cycling projects through its funding streams is one the key policy areas where the EU has a real added value for developing active mobility. In Central and Eastern Europe virtually every infrastructure project has been built with EU co-funding, but it is also true that economically more developed regions can get EU funding to help get projects off the ground. With the preparations for the new financial period 2021 – 2027 already in full swing, the Romanian EU Presidency, the Interreg CHIPS project and ECF jointly held a high-level meeting on the 3^rd of April to raise awareness for the funding aspect. Next to quantity, the event’s focus was also on the quality of infrastructure projects with the objective of providing for safe and attractive conditions.

These are the 7 big takeaways from the event:

1. EU investments in active mobility are on the rise: The EU will invest considerably more money into active mobility during the 2014 – 2020 funding period than previously calculated. The latest 2018 estimation, presented by Vincent Leiner from the European Commission’s Regional Affairs Department, puts the figure at 2 billion Euro. That’s 28 % up compared to a 2016 calculation when the figure stood at 1.5 billion Euro. The reason behind this increase is that regional authorities re-programmed their operational programmes and evidently put a higher focus on walking and cycling
    
2. Campaigning works. Even better so with strong partners. Compared with the previous funding period, 2007 – 2013, when 600 million Euro was invested in active mobility through various EU funds, an increase to 2 billion Euro (for 2014-2020) would represent almost a tripling of EU funding. Through our 6 billion campaign that we ran between 2012 – 2014, we campaigned for a bigger slice of the cake!

   A central element of the campaign was to encourage national and regional authorities to add clear reference on cycling in their EU funded programmes. This will be a key element of the revised ECF campaign for the new funding period too. “Regions will not just do it because it’s written in an EU document”, we were reminded by Camille Thomé, from the French network Vélo & Territoires, which ran the very successful “Des €uro pour le vélo” campaign, from 2012 – 2014. Bringing counties and regions together under one roof was a key ingredient for success. Heather Allen from Walk 21, who brought the walking perspective to the conference, made an open plea to join forces between active mobility stakeholders! ECF’s Advocacy Director, Adam Bodor, gladly took up that call: “We are in a competition for EU funds (with other modes of transport). We need to build alliances!”
    

3. Let’s be bold: ECF and its partners, who jointly developed the EU Cycling Strategy, may have been too modest when it came to setting a target for the 2021 – 2027 funding period. Using the 2016 figure of 1.5 billion Euro, we set the objective of doubling EU investments to 3 billion Euro. With 2 billion Euro already within reach for the 2014 – 2020 period, the 3 billion target for the next funding period, around 3 % of the likely total EU transport investments, does not seem such a long way off anymore. Indeed, if it was up to the participants of the event, the target would be set much higher! In a poll taken at the event, 80 % of voters supported an ‘At least 10 %’ target. Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director General of the Commission’s Transport Department, said in his concluding remarks: “We hope we can increase the funding. Make the case!”

   
    

4. Making the case for investments: ECF’s Economic and Fiscal Policy Officer, Holger Haubold, presented the figures of the updated ECF report, “The Benefits of Cycling: Unlocking Their Potential for Europe”. According to the report, cycling creates benefits of at least 150 billion euros every year in the European Union (including the UK). More than 90 billion euros of the benefits are positive externalities for the environment, public health and the mobility system. In comparison, a recent study published by the European Commission estimated the negative externalities (i.e. the costs for the environment, health and mobility) of motorised road transport at almost 800 billion euros per year.

   While some of these figures may seem very abstract, the event also gave very concrete examples:
    

• 1 million bicycles are manufactured every year in Romania, said Florin Biban, the Romanian Secretary of State for Road Transport, who gave the opening and closing speech.
• 1 million cycle tourists along the Loire Cycle Route (EuroVelo 6) spend a total of 50 million Euro every year on accommodation, food, etc. “Money that goes directly into the local economy”, according to Camille Thomé.
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5. It is as much about quality as about quantity: In the 2^nd part of the event, three case studies from West Pomerania (Poland), Navarra (Spain) and Flemish Brabant (Belgium) highlighted the need for quality investments. Wanda Nowatorska from West Pomerania had a particular impressive story to tell about the region’s 51 million Euro investments in building 410 km of quality cycle routes that will form part of a 1000 km regional cycle route network. Ana Lizaraga from Navarra, Member of ECF’s Cities and Regions Network, introduced two European cycle projects, the Atlantic Bike Route and Iderbidea.

   To get infrastructure projects right, ECF’s Infrastructure Officer Aleksander Buczynski recommended to integrate cycling in all big infrastructure projects and to develop EU quality requirements for cycling infrastructure. The latter will be a requirement of the revised Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive.
    

6. Are cycle-highways the next big thing?! Wietse Hermanns, from Flemish Brabant and Project Manager of the Interreg CHIPS project, introduced the province’s ambition to develop a network of cycle highways, primarily aimed at long-distance cycling commuters. Stretches of the F1 linking up Brussels with Antwerp were tested by participants after the main event.Cycle highway projects have been popping up at many locations across Europe, leading Vincent Leiner to predict that this type of infrastructure will receive a lot more attention from the EU than in previous years.
    
7. The EU must take the lead: Representing the EU presidency Romania’s Secretary of State for Road Transport, Florin Biban, acknowledged in his opening speech that active mobility has to be given renewed attention in the countries transport and mobility policies. A national cycling strategy is still missing. DG MOVE’s Matthew Baldwin acknowledged that we don’t get anywhere unless we bring all levels onboard. “But the EU must take the lead!” he concluded.

As they become available the presentations given at the event will be available for download via the links below:

Investing EU Funds In Active Mobility - Adam Bodor

More Walking and Cycling Please: Growing Active Mobility Through EU Funds - Vincent Leiner

Investing into humanity's second mode of transport: The socio-economic benefits of cycling - Holger Haubold

Network of long distance cycle routes in the West Pomerania Region - Wanda Nowatorska

Financing Cycle Highways in Flemish Brabant: Examples from the F1 and the CHIPS project - Wietse Hermanns​

How to Improve Return on Investment in Infrastructure Projects - Aleksander Buczynski