Minister of Transport and Communications Eugenijus Sabutis leaves for Poland on Wednesday. The international conference “A new era of European Transport – challenges of the TEN-T policy” in Łódź will serve as a platform for a discussion on the development of European transport networks, its challenges and investment in transport infrastructure, reports Ministry of Transport and Communications.
At an event organised by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), transport ministers from Lithuania, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and representatives of the European Commission will discuss the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which includes Via Baltica and Rail Baltica, and the possibilities of increasing EU funding to accelerate their implementation, as well as the sustainability and resilience of the transport sector.
Bilateral meetings between Minister Sabutis and Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of Bulgaria Grozdan Karadjov, and Secretary General of the International Transport Forum (ITF) Young Tae Kim are also scheduled to take place in Lodz.
According to Mr Sabutis, in the context of the forthcoming multiannual EU budget, European investment is of paramount importance to significantly improve Lithuania’s road infrastructure and to develop the missing cross-border transport and military mobility links with Europe.
For Lithuania, it is crucial that the new TEN-T network already includes a European railway line to Klaipėda, the shortest route between Lithuania and Ukraine, and new military mobility links from Bialystok to Vilnius. The Lithuanian and Polish Transport Ministries have already applied for European funding to adapt the road connecting Augustow and Vilnius to military mobility needs.
In addition, three of the four sections (28.5 km) of Via Baltica, which is strategically important for Lithuania and international communication, have already been completed in Lithuania. The last section will be completed this year.
Construction of the 44.8 km of the Rail Baltica main line and engineering structures is currently underway between Kaunas and Panevėžys. The construction of the European-standard railway from Kaunas to the Latvian border is planned to cover 114 km this year.