Baltic states highlight importance of cross-border infrastructure projects

TALLINN - At a meeting of European Union transport ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania highlighted the need to ensure sufficient and stable funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for large cross-border infrastructure projects.

"When allocating CEF funding, more attention needs to be paid to connecting the different regions of Europe. Cross-border connections such as Rail Baltic are of strategic importance to the European Union and require long-term and stable financing," Estonia's Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet said at the meeting.

He said that thanks to CEF funding, the construction of the Rail Baltic is progressing as planned, and construction works are on schedule for the railway to begin operations in 2030.

"The timely completion of the project is crucial. Insufficient funding, however, would slow down the implementation of the project, which in turn would threaten the achievement of Europe's climate goals and also impact security," he said.

Given the security situation, Svet believes that support for the construction of civilian infrastructure that is also suited for military needs must also be increased.

"Due to changes in the geopolitical situation, the need to invest in infrastructure that allows for the rapid and large-scale transfer of military assets has significantly increased."

The minister called for also considering the needs of neighboring EU candidate countries, including Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkan states, when planning funding.

The meeting of EU transport ministers discussed a new directive that would allow driver's license suspensions for serious road traffic offenses, such as drink-driving or causing a fatal accident, to be enforced across the EU. Currently, a driving ban can only be enforced in the country where the offense took place.

Lithuania briefed fellow EU members on the situation where meteorological balloons released from Belarus are entering the Lithuanian airspace with increasing frequency. Although these balloons are mainly used for smuggling goods, in the current geopolitical situation it cannot be excluded that they could also be used for other purposes, an official from the Lithuanian transport ministry told the meeting.

On the fringes of the meeting, the Estonian minister met with the new EU commissioner for transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the commissioner for defense, Andrius Kubilius. At these meetings, Svet stressed in particular the strategic importance of the Rail Baltic project.