The European Investment Bank (EIB), through its advisory arm, and the European Commission are launching a new technical training programme under the JASPERS mandate, making a concrete step in strengthening EU’s strategic port infrastructure. The assignment is supported under a EC-EIB Joint Contribution Agreement providing financial backing from the Connecting Europe Facility and Cohesion Policy Funds.
This new advisory assignment is designed to reach a broad audience of small and medium-sized ports on the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network, aiming to enhance their capacity to prepare high-quality, technically robust, and economically sound investment projects. The initiative specifically seeks to ensure that projects are prepared in line with EU policy objectives such as sustainability, resilience, digitalisation, and improved connectivity.
Europe’s ports are the anchors of the continent’s economy, playing a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless flow of essential goods, energy, and raw materials. With more than 400 million passengers and up to 3.5 billion tonnes of cargo passing through their gates every year, these ports form the beating heart of Europe’s transport network – a logistics backbone that keeps industries moving and communities connected.
EIB Advisory experts will provide tailored assistance and share expertise through a structured series of live webinars and interactive workshops on various topics, enabling small and medium-sized ports across the EU to convert strategic priorities into tangible, mature investment pipelines. By strengthening administrative capacity at the local level, it will facilitate access to EU and EIB funding and accelerate priority port investments for both the current and upcoming programming periods.
The assignment forms part of EIB Advisory’s broader contribution to EU transport policy objectives, including the development of resilient, sustainable, secure and well‑connected transport networks.
Since starting operations, EIB Advisory through its JASPERS and other mandates have supported several ports in climate resilience and adaptation, deployment of alternative fuels, new capacity for vessels and connectivity. This new initiative represents a further step by combining structured training programmes and tailored support to individual ports with the aim to address specific capacity gaps and technical weaknesses, ensuring that no port is left behind.