Latvia Fails to Contribute Its Annual Allocation to RB Rail in 2022
In a recent statement on Latvian Radio's "Good Morning" program, Kristīne Malnača, Deputy State Secretary for Rail Baltica at the Ministry of Transport, highlighted the current difficulties the Latvian government is facing in funding the Rail Baltica project.
Malnača explained that the expenditure related to RB Rail is not sudden, but the money is being requested from contingency funds because it has been the historical practice. One million Euros of the requested amount is a contribution to the RB Rail Fund, which is made from each country's budget, as part of an agreement between the Baltic neighbours for annual contributions for administrative expenses.
The requested funds are necessary to continue work on Riga Central Railway Station and Riga Airport Station. However, the Latvian government has not provided the funds requested for RB Rail in the summer, as previously mentioned. As of now, Latvia is obligated to contribute more than €900,000 this year to RB Rail, but the requested funds for 2023 are not included in the Latvian budget as of now.
These difficulties in decision-making regarding the Rail Baltica project in the Latvian government have been ongoing since the summer. The delays in funding are causing uncertainty about the project's movement forward. There are numerous unanswered questions about the project's progress and future, making the current decisions challenging.
Despite the challenges, the Rail Baltica project appears to be progressing well in Estonia with ongoing construction and a target completion in the 2030s. However, no explicit information on Latvia’s failure to meet its contribution or particular funding delays in Latvia is mentioned in the available data.
The Ministry of Transport has prepared an information report requesting more than €20 million in additional state budget funding for 2024 and 2025. As of now, the government has not provided the funds, and there has been no reply from Prime Minister Evika Siliņa regarding the situation.
The additional funds requested are needed this year to continue work on Riga Central Railway Station and Riga Airport Station. Without these funds, the future of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia remains uncertain.
- The government's request for more than €20 million in additional state budget funding for the Rail Baltica project in 2024 and 2025 has not been granted, as of now, and there is no response from Prime Minister Evika Siliņa about the situation.
- Kristīne Malnača, Deputy State Secretary for Rail Baltica at the Ministry of Transport, mentioned that the delays in funding for the Rail Baltica project have been ongoing since the summer, causing uncertainty about the project's movement forward.
- In the recent statement on Latvian Radio's "Good Morning" program, Malnača explained that one million Euros of the requested amount for RB Rail is a contribution to the RB Rail Fund, which is made from each country's budget, as part of an agreement between the Baltic neighbors for annual contributions for administrative expenses.
- The financial difficulties the Latvian government is facing in funding the Rail Baltica project have been highlighted by Malnača, with the stated fact that as of now, Latvia is obligated to contribute more than €900,000 this year to RB Rail, but the requested funds for 2023 are not included in the Latvian budget.
