Baltic, Construction, EU – Baltic States, Lithuania, Railways, Transport
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Friday, 29.03.2024, 13:58
Rail Baltic process dragging because of Lithuania
The RB Rail CEO underlined at the same time that the
European Union has given a serious signal that a well and transparently managed
joint venture is key to the project's successful implementation. This will
provide economy of scale, transparent management of financial and procurement
processes and will ensure compatibility of complex infrastructures, which is
especially important in terms of technical safety and railway operation. The
joint project will benefit the three Baltic countries as well as everyone else
who might potentially want to join it. The joint venture is not a whim, but a
way the EU sees the project's implementation, Rubesa said.
Michael Cramer,
chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism,
warned in an interview that the Baltic states risk losing EU funding for Rail Baltic if they prove unable to
reach common ground on the project's implementation.
The Baltic states have reportedly failed to agree on the
distribution of Rail Baltic money.
Lithuania feared that, with all orders conducted by the Latvia-registered
company RB Rail, VAT would remain in Latvia. Lithuania has always wanted the
VAT for the work done in Lithuania to stay in the country's territory. In July,
ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia agreed on VAT distribution, however,
the countries are still at odds over the final financing scheme.
The three countries have still failed to agree on the
appointment of RB Rail board members.
Rail Baltic
project coordinator Catherine Trautmann
has also warned about the Baltic states possibly losing the support in case of
failure to agree on project implementation.
Last year, the European Commission granted 106 mln euros for
project implementation in Lithuania, in addition to nearly 191mln euros
earmarked this year.