Estonian parlt's select committee to discuss progress of Rail Baltic with EU coordinator

TALLINN - The anti-corruption select committee of the Riigikogu is set to discuss the construction of the Rail Baltic railway with Catherine Trautmann, the European Commission's coordinator for Rail Baltic, on Thursday.

Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, chairperson of the anti-corruption select committee, said it would be appropriate to have an overview of how the three Baltic states are tackling the problems of building the railway and coordinating the project when different parts of the project are progressing at a different speed than expected. It is important to know more about the sources of funding for the project, which has become several times more expensive, and the risks associated with a delayed completion date.

"We are in a situation where, due to a lack of funds, it has been decided to build the railway only partially in some areas, and it is unclear whether and when trains might start running there. We hope to receive answers from the European Commission representative regarding possible solutions to the project's funding problems and whether we should expect any sanctions if one of the Baltic states fails to implement the project as agreed, both in terms of scope and deadlines -- and whether Estonia could be held jointly responsible if another Baltic state breaches the rules or deadlines," the opposition Center Party MP said.

The head of the committee pointed out that the agreement ratified by the parliaments of the three Baltic states sets the final completion date of the project as 2026, but by now it is doubtful whether the project will even be completed by 2030, so that trains would start running on the Rail Baltic route in 2031.

The committee hearing follows up on issues raised during a joint sitting of the anti-corruption and state budget control select committees of Nov. 18 last year. At that meeting, the financing of the Rail Baltic project and the state's obligations were discussed.

If the plenary sitting of the Riigikogu is over by then, the committee's sitting will start at 12:15 p.m. and can be followed via webcast. If the plenary is still in session at that time, the chair of the committee will meet Trautmann and other MPs are also welcome to attend.

A video recording of the sitting will be available later on Riigikogu's YouTube channel.