According to a study completed by the European Commission in 2025, Europe faces a structural shortage of more than 39,000 truck parking areas. Without adequate investment, the gap is expected to widen to 483,000 units by 2040. The problem is not only the lack of capacity: the quality of many existing facilities is also low. Only a small proportion meet the standards of Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas, and in 2019 less than 3% were certified as secure.
This has a direct impact on both safety and the economy. Commission data show that three-quarters of cargo thefts occur in unprotected areas, generating an annual cost of around €8.2 billion for the industry. Some 85% of operators have reported theft or vandalism incidents, while the lack of proper facilities also worsens working conditions for drivers, compounding a driver shortage currently estimated at around 500,000.
To address the issue, at least in part, the Commission launched the Cef Transport call, the results of which were announced in July 2025. A total of 94 projects have been selected for funding worth €2.8 billion, with €91 million earmarked specifically for secure truck parking. The goal is to reduce the structural deficit in both capacity and quality that continues to weigh on the sector.
The funding will allow the construction or upgrade of more than 3,400 certified parking spaces across ten Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Spain. The projects are located along the main TEN-T corridors and will provide different security levels, ranging from Bronze to Platinum, which are the criteria used to classify safety standards and driver services.
