Introduction to the campaign
The ECF established the EU Funds for Cycling Campaign in 2012 to raise awareness of the opportunities that exist for using EU Funds to invest in cycling measures. The aim is to take already-existing funding and create Europe-wide networks that will produce growth, innovation and opportunities in the cycling world.
The EU has a budget of €1 trillion for the period 2014 to 2020. In the previous seven-year budget (2007-2013), only €600 million was allocated to cycling. Why? Well, it’s largely because national and regional governments didn’t know what to ask for.
- Previously, only 4 EU countries had requested significant money (>€100 million) for cycling.
- In Hungary, €200 million was used to fund a comprehensive national cycling plan – this is something that could have been done in many other EU countries
- Some of the best known mountain biking developments in the world have been funded by the EU
- In 2012, ECF and its partners secured €4million from the EU for the TransDanube Cycle Route and The Iron Curtain Trail. The money is there, the resources are too – now it’s just about putting them to use.
The funding can be used in a number of ways and on various projects that work to stimulate and enlarge the market for cycling and cycling advocacy all over Europe. The main sources of EU funding are:
- Directly from the European Commission (various)
- Cohesion Policy
- Agriculture and Rural Development
- Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance; European Neighbourhood Policy; and External Aid
Want more information on the EU Funds for Cycling Campaign or EU funds in general?
The video below, while a bit dated, is still entirely relevant and provides an introduction to the campaign and the different funding mechanisms.
If you want to actively help out, go to our How you can get more funds for cycling and our EU Funds Observatory for Cycling pages for more information.