Common Declaration of the Baltic States on Rail Baltica

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania reaffirm Rail Baltica to be our common strategic project and a major European investment in security, military mobility, connectivity and competitiveness. Its full potential can only be realised through a continuous cross-border railway connection linking the Baltic States with the rest of Europe. The change in the regional security environment, its economic impact and the sharp increase in defense investment have placed considerable pressure on the budgets of the Eastern flank, which at the same time carry the responsibility of securing the European Union's external border towards the aggressor.

We jointly commit to making Rail Baltica main line operational within the framework of next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) of the EU while keeping the ambition to continue building as close as possible to the currently agreed schedule set out in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1332. To ensure this, the project partners will timely commission necessary unified operational systems, define their construction schedules, investment priorities and national commitments to move forward together. This process will be closely coordinated with the European Commission and the Republic of Poland, ensuring full alignment on the Rail Baltica connection, funding mechanisms, comprehensive work plans, and unified implementation deadlines. The full benefits of Rail Baltica cannot be realised by individual national sections but only when the railway operates as an integrated cross-border corridor with key role in the military mobility.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania remain committed to the successful delivery of Rail Baltica and underline the importance of predictable EU support under the next MFF. To guarantee successful project delivery, in the discussions on next MFF of the EU we will jointly advocate for securing at least 10 billion EUR dedicated allocation for the Rail Baltica project in the Baltic states in particular through dedicated funding under the Connecting Europe Facility. To ensure uninterrupted construction from 2026 until the launchof the next MFF, securing timely bridge financing and maintaining an EU co-financing rate of up to 85% for this strategic EU Eastern border project through the next MFF is essential.

Such arrangement will allow us to maintain a robust pace of construction, control the costs and use the full potential of cross-border infrastructure funding possibilities in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. Aligning the delivery timeline with the next MFF provides a credible and efficient path towards completing Rail Baltica, while ensuring an effective balance between European and national financing.

To deliver the first phase of the Rail Baltica main line, the project must achieve meaningful cost reduction. Countries should constantly monitor and, where possible, adjust technical details of the project, which do not affect the agreed essential operational requirements, basing decisions on a comprehensive whole-lifecycle cost assessment. The Rail Baltica Design guidelines continue to define the common parameters across the project and - in duly justified cases and in accordance with the change management procedures agreed therewith - ensure deviation possibilities while not compromising the interoperability across the corridor. The three Baltic States will strive to align their construction, material and workforce capacity in order to reduce the risk of inflation and overheating of the market. The three Baltic States will also agree in advance on common standards that prioritise cross-border connection delivery, enabling faster execution and stronger cost control.

We underline that the successful delivery of Rail Baltica requires both close regional cooperation and clear national accountability. Each Member State shall remain responsible for fulfilling its own implementation and financing commitments, without creating additional obligations or liabilities for other participating states.

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