The European Court of Auditors’ report on European Union (EU) transport infrastructure projects, including Rail Baltica, is a constructive reference point for the further implementation of Rail Baltica, Latvia’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) says.
Minister of Transport Atis Švinka (Progressives) noted that although the report is critical, its constructive criticism will certainly contribute to the project’s progress.
He said that the previously set objective of ensuring a cross-border connection with the European transport network is challenging, but the implementation process continues and depends on the availability of funding and joint efforts in project delivery.
The ministry explains that the European Court of Auditors’ report clearly outlines the challenges faced by cross-border projects of this scale, including the sustainability of financing, changes in technical solutions, and complex coordination among multiple parties. These challenges have long been the subject of professional discussions in cooperation with the European Commission (EC), European transport corridor coordinators, and partners in the Baltic states.
According to the ministry,
cooperation with the EC to date has been constructive and solution-oriented,
and EU financial support has been decisive in advancing Rail Baltica across the region.
The ministry adds that Rail Baltica is one of the EU’s most strategically important cross-border infrastructure projects, involving all three Baltic states simultaneously, with close cooperation also involving Poland and Finland. The added value of such a project requires additional coordination, and Latvia expresses its readiness to continue close cooperation at all levels.
At the same time, Latvia agrees that the current key priority is to ensure tangible progress in the project’s first phase, taking into account both the current security situation in Europe and the agreement that cross-border connectivity is the highest strategic objective. Latvia also recognises the risk posed by rising costs and is implementing measures to limit this risk, strictly adhering to available funding and the government-defined fiscal framework. In line with the government’s decision of 10 December 2024, the tasks of the first phase are being carried out in accordance with available funding, without assuming financial commitments without proper coverage.
The ministry notes that work carried out in Latvia in 2025, in close cooperation with builders and technical experts, will allow the mainline construction designs to be further adapted to the available EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funds, while maintaining the project’s quality and technical standards. This approach is expected to ensure project continuity and more efficient use of EU funding.
In the ministry’s view,
the project’s transition from planning to an active construction phase requires a more flexible approach
by the EC to approving changes in technical solutions. Latvia has repeatedly called on the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) to promptly approve optimisations needed to adapt construction projects to both technical realities and available funding. However, the current legal framework is not sufficient to implement even minor changes swiftly without risking the loss of funding.
The ministry also points to positive progress achieved in 2025 at the Riga Central Station site and in the Riga Airport connection with Imanta station, with funding attracted from the EU Recovery Fund and the Cohesion Fund. This experience will be valuable when planning funding attraction in the next EU multiannual budget period, which will require the use of various EU financial instruments.
At the same time, Latvia strongly supports the EC’s proposed regulation establishing the Connecting Europe Facility for the 2028–2034 period. This proposal is a key component of the EU’s new multiannual financial framework, and the proposed increase in funding for transport and military mobility demonstrates the EU’s clear commitment to continuing the development of strategic cross-border transport projects.
Latvia stresses that
this approach is essential both for modernising the European transport network and for strengthening regional security.
Rail Baltica, as dual-use infrastructure, is a central element of the EU’s military mobility corridor, and Latvia has invested significant effort over many years to ensure the project’s progress, financial discipline, and compliance with EU standards, the ministry notes.
Latvia has also made it unequivocally clear that it will not support any reduction in funding for the transport component of the Connecting Europe Facility, including military mobility projects, in future negotiations. This position is based both on national security interests and on the conviction of the importance of Rail Baltica and other strategic projects for Europe’s overall resilience and connectivity.
Latvia will continue close cooperation with the EC, member states, and all project partners to ensure the successful and timely implementation of Rail Baltica. Latvia expresses readiness to actively engage in finding practical solutions and improving necessary processes to strengthen the resilience and mobility of the EU transport network, while also promoting regional security interests.
Rail Baltica is a strategic investment in the future, and Latvia remains committed to ensuring its high-quality implementation,
the ministry emphasises.
As previously reported by LETA, the European Court of Auditors has concluded in its report on EU transport infrastructure that the costs of the Rail Baltica project, after completion of the second phase, are likely to exceed €23.8 billion.
The report updates the Court’s considerations and findings from a similar audit conducted in 2020. It focuses in particular on the costs and timelines of eight TEN-T megaprojects, including the Rail Baltica railway project.
The Court concluded that the deadline for completing the EU core network—2030—will not be met and that the costs of two projects have increased significantly, including Rail Baltica, whose costs have more than doubled since 2020.
At the time of the European Court of Auditors’ 2020 report, Rail Baltica’s official cost estimate was €5.8 billion in 2017 prices, and the Court warned that costs could rise to €7 billion. According to the cost–benefit analysis carried out in 2024, total project costs have since increased to €23.8 billion in 2023 prices.
The main reasons identified in the analysis were the lack of maturity and detail in earlier estimates,
accounting for around half of the increase, as well as changes in the project’s scope and structure. The report notes that project promoters have also highlighted the risk that the new estimate may still not be fully accurate, as detailed design studies had been prepared for only about one third of the total railway line length on which the estimate was based.
Regarding the schedule, project partners decided to divide the project into two phases. In the first phase, a single-track railway must be completed by 2030, while the second phase involves completing the entire project, for which no timetable has been set.
Given the extended schedule, it is likely that total project costs will exceed €23.8 billion after completion of the second phase. The report also notes that delays to Rail Baltica are likely to increase further, as under the latest plan of November 2025 the first phase is to be completed by 2030. However, auditors were unable to calculate the extent of the delay, as no implementation schedule exists for the second phase.
It has also been reported that, according to RB Rail, the cost of the first phase of Rail Baltica in the Baltics could reach €14.3 billion, of which €5.5 billion would be in Latvia. However, there is potential for savings of up to €500 million through optimisation of technical solutions, as well as other possible savings.
Overall project costs, according to the cost–benefit analysis for the Baltics, could reach €23.8 billion. In the previous cost–benefit analysis in 2017, the total project cost was estimated at €5.8 billion.
The Rail Baltica project envisages the construction of a European standard-gauge railway line from Tallinn to the Lithuanian–Polish border, enabling the Baltic states to be connected by rail with the rest of Europe. In the Baltic states, a new 870-kilometre-long European standard-gauge (1,435 mm) railway line is planned, with a maximum train speed of 240 kilometres per hour.
Read also: Rail Baltica finally moves forward in Latvia – construction to begin on a 30–35 km section