Baltic leaders discuss major rail project in joint meeting

Baltic Prime Minister's Andrus Ansip, Laimdota Straujuma and Algirdas Butkevičius meet today (Jan. 30) to discuss joint transport and political plans.

The Rail Baltic project, which connects the Baltic States and the Western Europe, and the co-operation in using the digital signatures will be discussed at the meeting in Tallinn, Estonia. The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, will also join the leaders to discuss co-operation issues.

The Rail Baltica project project hopes to ensure better opportunities for the development and competitiveness of the region through faster passenger and freight connection.

The Prime Ministers hope to come to an agreement over the creation of a joint venture to carry out the project. Future steps for better involvement of Poland in the Rail Baltic planning and development activities will be also discussed at the meeting of the Baltic and Polish Prime Ministers.

Co-operation in the field of IT is another essential discussion topic. The Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will discuss the activity plan on how to reach mutual recognition and cross-border usage of digital signatures between the Baltic States.

The situation in Ukraine, the European Union climate and energy policy, and common energy projects will be discussed at the meeting of the Baltic and Polish Prime Ministers. Last week, the European Commission published a Communication, providing a framework for the European energy and climate policy until 2030.

The plans include proposals for setting the EU-wide target levels in terms of reducing greenhouse gases and increasing the share of renewable energy. The package also included an analysis of the impact of energy prices on the European Union’s competitiveness and an initiative for shale gas exploration and production.

The informal meeting of the Baltic Prime Ministers will take place within the framework of the Baltic Council of Ministers. The Baltic co-operation presidency changes at the beginning of each calendar year and the Presidency co-ordinates the co-operation of all levels. Estonia will be the Presidency this year.