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Leading Baltic, Polish MPs urge to adhere to Rail Baltica project timeframe

Xinhua, September 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The heads of the European affairs committees of the Baltic and Polish parliaments have released a joint statement expressing support for the Rail Baltica project.

The MPs called on all the sides of the project to adhere to its timeframe in order not to lose European Union (EU) funds earmarked for the project, Latvian Parliament's press service said Monday.

The statement says that Rail Baltica is a project of the century for the Baltic countries, the development of railroad is of major importance for the national security of the Baltics, and the project will contribute immensely to the economic development and neighborly relations of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland.

Any delays with the Rail Baltica project may negatively impact further implementation of the project, the MPs warn.

The heads of the committees also note that transparent, responsible management of the project and observance of good governance principles is a precondition for successful implementation of the project.

Disagreements between the Baltic countries over the project have slowed down its implementation.

The Rail Baltica project envisages construction of a new 1435 milimeter standard-gauge railroad in the Baltic countries where existing railroads are of 1520 mm Russian gauge. The European Commission has allotted Latvia 238 million euros (267 million U.S. dollars) for the first round of the project.

By 2020, the three Baltic states will receive a total of 442 million euros from the EU for this project.

The aim of the Rail Baltica project is to re-establish a direct connection between the Baltic states and the European railway network. The project is expected to facilitate regional integration by means of a railway link from Helsinki that would link Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas, Warsaw and Berlin and might potentially be extended to Venice. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Endit