Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves held up the joint venture for the Rail Baltic project as an example to Baltic cooperation, calling the high-speed railway link a vital connection for the region.
Ilves holds up Rail Baltic as example to Baltic cooperation
19th September 2013, 17:53
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Ilves said in an interview with BNS on Wednesday that he had no doubts that the Baltic states' disagreements might foil the conclusion of an agreement on the establishment of the Rail Baltic joint company.
«On Sept. 16 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and, importantly, also Finland and Poland, signed this agreement. This important step is a victory for all of us -- the Baltic states, the whole region. It also shows how compromises can be achieved, also shows the possibility of our regional cooperation,» the president said.
In Ilves' words, the goal of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has to be resultful development of cooperation projects that unite the Baltic markets and nations and bind us more strongly with the rest of Europe economically and security-wise. «Successful cooperation projects and the euros, currently also the litas and the lats, invested in them are the measurable result of present-day Baltic cooperation,» he said.
According to Ilves, Rail Baltic is «not just a line on a map but an indispensable connection for our region.»
«I believe that the signing of the agreement establishing the Rail Baltic joint venture also increased mutual trust which determines the strength of our cooperation and makes it visible and credible to the rest of the European Union that is prepared to participate in financing truly large projects in this part of the Baltic Sea region only on that condition,» Ilves said.
Cabinet ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland on Monday signed in Vilnius a declaration on the establishment of a joint venture for the Rail Baltic railway project. Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts said after the signing that hiring a professional management consisting of the best experts in the world is of crucial importance for the success of the joint venture.
The joint company will be founded by the three Baltic countries but according to the agreement Finland and Poland have a chance to join later as shareholders. The headquarters for the venture will be situated in Riga but all three countries would make a contribution worth 650,000 euros per year.
It was also agreed that the shareholders' agreement of the limited liability company would be ready at the beginning of 2014 and that the parties will apply for funding from the European Union in the amount of 85 percent of the whole sum needed to carry out the project.
Rail Baltic is a projected conventional high-speed railway stretching from Tallinn to the border of Poland, the planned speed of which would be 240 kilometers per hour.