Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius urged the Baltic states on Thursday to secure funding for the Rail Baltica project in the European Union’s 2028-2034 budget, speaking to reporters in Riga. Sinkevicius emphasized that Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania should advocate for multiannual budget allocations through the Connecting Europe Facility, the EU’s designated funding tool for the project.

The call comes as construction of the European-gauge railway continues amid legal disputes. Italian firm Rizzani de Echer, which had been building the longest bridge in the Baltics in Jonava, had its contract terminated with roughly half the work completed and is now in litigation with LTG Infra, the infrastructure arm of Lithuanian Railways. Despite these challenges, Transport Minister Juras Taminskas stated earlier this week that the project remains under control, a sentiment Sinkevicius echoed in Riga. “Despite what is happening on the ground, I think we see progress; the project is moving forward and is no longer just at the discussion level,” the prime minister said .

The total estimated cost of Rail Baltica has ballooned to €23.8 billion, up from a 2017 estimate of €5.8 billion. Matiss Paegle, chairman of the supervisory board of the RB Rail joint venture, has warned that construction delays risk the loss of already allocated grants and could reduce funding in the next EU budget cycle. The project is designed to connect Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Panevėžys, Kaunas, Vilnius and Warsaw, with a 392-kilometer section running through Lithuania. It is part of the EU’s North Sea-Baltic military mobility corridor.

Under EU law, core trans-European transport network projects must be completed by 2030, with the full network finished by 2050. The Tallinn-to-Warsaw line is scheduled to become operational no later than 2030. However, the European Court of Auditors stated in January that Rail Baltica will not meet the 2030 deadline and that a final completion date does not currently exist .

Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Transport Minister Juras Taminskas removed Oleksandras Laneckis from the board of Lithuanian Airports on Friday over public concern regarding his alleged ties to Russia and Belarus, as well as contacts with pro-Russian media .

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