Today and tomorrow, Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Toomas Kivimägi will take part in the sitting of the Economics, Energy and Innovation Committee of the Baltic Assembly in Riga. One of the main issues to be discussed at the sitting is the Rail Baltic project.

Members of the Baltic Assembly and Baltic Council of Ministers will review the progress in implementing the Rail Baltic project and the actions to develop regional highway infrastructure of the Baltic States.

“Today, the greatest challenge for Estonia is the realisation of the Rail Baltic project, and keeping the same pace with Latvia and Lithuania is an unavoidable precondition for that,” Kivimägi said. “I have sometimes called it a litmus test which shows whether the cooperation of the Baltic States is great only in words or also in actions.”

In Kivimägi’s opinion, real cooperation means that justified wishes of the partners have to be taken into account, even if you yourself have competing aims. “There is always someone who wins more and someone who wins less,” he said.

As the second main issue, members of the Committee jointly with the representatives of the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Baltic Development Forum will discuss the joint measures to develop digital economy of the Baltic States.

Thirdly, coordination of activities and pooling of resources of the Baltic States in regard to the next EU multiannual financial framework will be discussed by the members of the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers.

The Baltic Assembly, which was established in 1991, is a consultative and advisory international cooperation organisation of the parliaments of the three Baltic States for the discussion of issues of mutual interest. The positions of the Baltic Assembly are presented to the parliaments and the governments of the Baltic States as well as to international and regional organisations in the form of appeals, proposals and recommendations.

Riigikogu Press Service
Epp-Mare Kukemelk
Phone: +372 631 6356, +372 51 53 903
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