The authorities of the Baltic States demanded that the EU leadership give the money guaranteed to them for the construction of the Rail Baltica railway. Otherwise, they threaten to delay the ratification of the national economic recovery plans for an indefinite period, Sputnik Lithuania reports.
The seven-year EU budget provides for the allocation of 1.4 billion euros in the period from 2021 to 2027. But the consent of the European Parliament is needed in the framework of negotiations on financing transport infrastructure worth 28.4 billion euros.
Meanwhile, EP deputies are against reserving funds in the budget for specific projects or specific groups of countries. All countries are invited to participate in the competition.
The premieres of the Latvian and Estonian premieres Krisjanis Karins and Juri Ratas, together with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, wrote a letter to the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. They explained that only money for Rail Baltica would allow the plans to be accepted. And Europe needs this in order to launch a project to help EU countries to fight the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rail Baltica project is to connect the Baltic states with Western Europe. The route will pass through Berlin, Warsaw, Vilnius, Kaunas, Riga and Tallinn. It was supposed to earn in 2026, its cost is estimated at 5.8 billion euros.
Last summer, the European regulator expressed doubts about the cost recovery of the road. First of all, the questions were raised by the declared number of passengers.
Earlier it became known that the new government of Estonia 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.