Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Railways, Transport

The European Commission expects by 26 February latest the financial applications of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for building the joint Rail Baltica railway line. While initially the plan was that the joint venture created by the three countries would submit also a joint application, Lithuania announced that it will ask for 30 million euros through the joint venture, but additionally 165 million euros separately.

Estonia will continue on the course of the joint application, confirmed the Rail Baltica Estonian project manager Miiko Peris, saying that this is the most beneficial for the joint project. "We have kept this position throughout the course of the negotiations, and in fact, we believe that, eventually, this is what happens," he said.

Lithuania has already started construction of the Rail Baltica section, which runs from the Polish-Lithuanian border to Kaunas.

Peris does not exclude the possibility that a plan B could emerge on the table, but hopes that this will not happen. While it is technically possible to submit separate applications for each country, it is not at all the best option. "It also shows how much joint activity logic there is in this project. In the long term, a common application is definitely better, and it also has a better chance of being funded by the European Commission," said the project manager.

Rail Baltica's estimated cost is approximately EUR 3.6 billion. In Estonia, building the infrastructure should cost 1.1 billion euros.