Parliament funds European infrastructure project

   Members of European Parliament have approved a deal with European Union states on the Connecting Europe Facility, which will have a budget of 29.3 billion euro ($39.45 billion) over the next six years.
   The facility will reserve 23.2 billion euro to improve transportation throughout Europe, with the goal of removing bottlenecks, streamlining cross-border moves, and upgrading infrastructure. The rest of the money will go to improving communication and energy links among member states.
   “The CEF will improve the mobility of citizens, goods and services across the EU … by dealing with missing links and bottlenecks in the networks,” MEP Dominique Riquet said in a statement.
   An official added that sustainable rail and “Motorways of the Seas” are also important to the project.
   Parliament also voted on guidelines for the trans-European Transport Network, which aims to link up major cities with ports.