The Prime Ministers of the Baltic states agree to open the borders between the three countries on 15 May

Stenbock House, Tallinn, 6 May 2020 – the Prime Ministers of the Baltic states, Jüri Ratas, Krišjānis Kariņš and Saulius Skvernelis, have agreed during a video meeting held today to work towards opening the Estonian-Latvian and Latvian-Lithuanian borders on 15 May.

“It is important to ensure that elimination of the border control goes safely and smoothly for the people of the Baltic states. For this, we need to coordinate our activities well,” Prime Minister Jüri Ratas said.

The details of the plan must be agreed between the Ministries responsible for the respective fields.  By now, the situation regarding the coronavirus has significantly improved in all three Baltic states and the governments are discussing easing the restrictions.

During the video meeting, the Prime Ministers also discussed the synchronisation of electrical power networks of the Baltics with the mainland of Europe, and the current state of the Rail Baltic project. “Rail Baltic continues to be a very important project for all three countries. The planning and construction works are in progress. We have also agreed to move forward with trying to find the most effective management model in close cooperation with the European Commission,” said Jüri Ratas, summing up the outcomes of the discussion. “Building Rail Baltic is a highly important factor in restarting the economies of the Baltic states,” Ratas emphasised.

Continuing with constructing Rail Baltic in accordance with the plan would support approximately 3,000 jobs in the three Baltic states during the construction period, in addition to indirect jobs in the industry and service sectors. The Prime Minister emphasised that the Baltic states must make a joint effort to ensure sufficient European Union funding for the project in the next EU budget period (2021–2027).

Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmN3jLAo