Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to invest €4.7 million into digitalisation of transport and logistics sector

The supported activity is the development work necessary to interface the e-CMR data exchange service with the e-CMR platform.

According to Erkki Keldo, Minister of Economy and Industry, the introduction of the e-CMR in the transport sector is a good example of how the deployment of digital solutions, which started in Estonia, is bringing benefits to the whole of Europe while also taking the functioning of the single market to a new level.

"While at present, operators have to submit both the consignment note and the accompanying information on paper to the national authorities checking the consignment, in the future all the necessary information can be transmitted digitally. The digitalisation of consignment notes will reduce the administrative burden, streamline processes and make the system more transparent for all parties involved, saving time and money while also benefitting the environment," explained Minister Keldo.

"Digitalisation is essential in order to stay competitive and in relation to this, the state is offering support to operators to do their IT developments to interface faster with the already developed e-CMR platform, which will in the future comply with the eFTI Regulation," the minister added.

The eFTI (Electronic Freight Transport Information) Regulation, which will oblige authorities to accept electronic consignment notes, will enter into force across Europe in 2027. To make this happen, several e-services for transport documents have been set up in Estonia. These e-services will replace paper documents.

In the private sector, the development of eFTI has been spearheaded by the Digital Logistics Centre of Excellence, which grew out of the Estonian government's entrepreneurship accelerator Accelerate Estonia.

Heiti Mering, Head of the Digital Logistics Centre of Excellence, said the company is one of the European Commission's advisors on the implementation of the eFTI Regulation and the development of data standards.

"Together with Finnish company DBE Core, we have completed the first eFTI gateway prototype, which meets the expectations of both the public and the private sector," said Mering. He added that the eFTI gateway, developed in cooperation between Estonia and Finland, is the first in Europe that allows the police to make queries to multiple e-CMR data platforms.

Transport and logistics companies can apply for support to connect their information systems and processes to the Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) platform, which will enable them to use electronic consignment notes (e-CMRs).

The maximum amount of support is €15,000 and it can cover up to 90% of the eligible costs. The total budget of the measure is €4.7 million, financed by the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

In the past, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has supported the creation and development of electronic freight data exchange platforms, which function as an e-CMR data exchange service.

Applications will be accepted from 30 September onwards.

Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (link)

For whom is the support intended?

• A company registered in the Estonian Commercial Register that operates in the field of transport or logistics.
• The de minimis aid does not exceed EUR 300,000.
• The company or its legal representative has not been convicted of a criminal offence under Sections 209, 2091, 210, 2601, 372, 373, 379 or 384 of the Penal Code.
  The economic activity has not been ceased or suspended.
• The tax debt to the state, including interest, does not exceed EUR 100 or the payment thereof has been staggered.
• The tax returns and annual accounts have been submitted.
• The company is not bankrupt or under compulsory dissolution and has not been the subject of a winding-up order.‍

What can you get support for?‍

The supported activity is the development work necessary to interface the e-CMR data exchange service with the electronic consignment note platform.‍

• An electronic consignment note is a digitised transport document which must contain the information specified in subsection 775 (1) of the Law of Obligations Act and subsection 29 (4) of the Road Transport Act.
• An e-CMR platform is an information and communication technology (ICT)-based solution, such as an operating system, a user environment or a database, designed to process eFTI.
• Interfacing is the creation of the software component necessary for information systems to communicate with one another.

The amount of the support is €15,000

Support granted on the basis of de minimis aid – 90% of the aid – the same % of the aid applies to all activities.

What will change in the company?

1. Digitalisation of road freight transport information exchange
2. Interfacing transport and logistics operators with the e-CMR data exchange service

Sources of articles:

Estonian Business and Innovation Agency support page

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications press release