The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a EU funding programme to promote growth, jobs, inclusiveness and competitiveness through the efficient interconnection of transport, energy and digital networks within and across Member States.
The digital part of CEF aims to contribute to the development of project of common interest (PCIs) relating to the deployment of safe, secure, sustainable and very high-capacity digital networks, including 5G systems, to the increased capacity and resilience of digital backbone networks in all EU territories, in particular the Outermost Regions.
The second Work Programme was amended in February 2026, in light of the Regulation (EU) 2025/2653 on incentivising defence-related investment in the EU budget to implement the ReArm Europe Plan, which provides, inter alia, for CEF Digital support to AI Gigafactories. The amended CEF Digital Work programme also contributes to the implementation of the Joint communication “EU Action Plan on Cable Security” (JOIN/2025/9) in terms of support for Cable Projects of European Interest (CPEIs) and reinforcement of cable repair capacities in the Union, including through a pilot in the Baltic Sea basin.
You can download the initial Work Programme below, as well as the amendment and its annex.