The authorities of the Baltic states have demanded from the leadership of the European Union to give them the money guaranteed for the construction of the Rail Baltica railroad. Otherwise, they threaten to delay the ratification of national plans to restore the economy indefinitely, Sputnik Lithuania reports.
The EU’s seven-year budget provides for the allocation of 1.4 billion euros from 2021 to 2027. But it needs the consent of the European Parliament as part of the 28.4 billion euro transport infrastructure financing negotiations.
Meanwhile, EP deputies are against setting aside funds in the budget for specific projects or specific groups of countries. All countries are invited to participate in the competition.
Latvian and Estonian premiers Krisjanis Karins and Juri Ratas, along with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausseda, wrote a letter to Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. They explained that only money for Rail Baltica would allow the plans to be adopted. And Europe needs it to launch a project to help EU countries fight the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rail Baltica project is to link the Baltic states with Western Europe. The route will go through Berlin, Warsaw, Vilnius, Kaunas, Riga, and Tallinn. It was supposed to start working in 2026, its cost was estimated at 5.8 billion euros.
Last summer, the European regulator expressed doubts about the road’s payback. First of all, questions were caused by the declared number of passengers.
Earlier it became known that the new Estonian government is going to resume negotiations with Finland on the construction of a railway tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
