Prime Minister Jüri Ratas discussed with European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc today how the funding of transport infrastructure could proceed in the European Union from 2021 onwards.

“The current Connecting Europe Facility has been very successful. We cannot talk about the European internal market and fundamental freedoms without the cross-border infrastructure. 

Thanks to the Connecting Europe Facility, travelling and connectivity have significantly improved in Europe which is why I hope that the corresponding facility will also continue to maintain its scope and principles in the new budget period of the European Union,” Prime Minister Ratas said and added that many large transport projects, such as Rail Baltic, have already been launched and continuing with them may prove to be difficult if the funding principles of the European Union change.

Currently, European infrastructure projects have been implemented through non-refundable grants from the Connecting Europe Facility and national co-financing. According to Prime Minister Ratas, the facility could also further support projects related to transport, energy, and telecommunications, since these three fields are interconnected. “The development of alternative fuels and self-driving vehicles has progressed well, and such synergy projects are becoming more and more important,” Ratas noted.

Prime Minister Ratas and Commissioner Bulc also discussed European air connectivity and the road transport package, which is currently one of the key issues in the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

"Increasing air connections with the rest of Europe is very important for Estonia. I am glad that the European Commission has developed the Air Connectivity Index, and I hope that this will serve as the basis to better connect the peripheral regions of Europe, such as Estonia, to the main centres,” Ratas said. “This would be beneficial both for people, whose travelling would become more convenient, and the economy. The calculations show that the increase of air connections by 10% means a 0.5% increase in GDP per capita,” the Prime Minister added.