Rail Baltica Agreement gets green light
The agreement which greenlighted the construction of the Rail Baltica link between the three Baltic countries has been signed in Tallin. This followed the announcement by Lithuanian Prime Minister, Saulius Skvernelis, and the Minister of Transport, Rokas Masiulis, that Lithuania’s remaining difficulties (regarding financing and the route for the Vilnius-Kaunas leg) had been solved. By signing the Tallin Agreement, the three Baltic countries commit to complete the Rail Baltica project by 2025, and make it operational by 2026. Once signed, the Agreement (as well as its technical annexes) will have to be ratified by the national parliaments of all three countries. The Agreement, besides setting the time frame, concerns the competences of “Rn Rail”, the project coordinator, and regulates the use of EU financing. These funds account for about 85% of the entire Rail Baltica, whose total cost is estimated to be five billion euros.
