Finland, Estonia sign MoU on transport cooperation

Transport and Communications Minister Timo Harakka and Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure TaaviAas on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the countries in the transport sector, said the Ministry of Transport and Communications in a press release.

The purpose of the MoU is cooperation in the transport sector and exchange of information between the countries in order to promote large-scale transport projects, such as the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel, Rail Baltica, Trans-European Transport Networks, and North Sea-Baltic Sea core network corridor.

The MoU provides an improved environment for applying EU funding for the projects.

The states are not bound by the MoU to any individual projects.

“Finland and Estonia have very ambitious rail projects under way. Our countries and capitals are located in the same EU core network corridors that will soon be expanded. In order to take advantage of the opportunities this will bring, it is wise to develop our transport systems in good cooperation and on the basis of close exchange of information. The overall objective should be that the transport systems of Finland and Estonia operate in multimodal integration, providing high-quality and sustainable journeys and transport between Northern and Central Europe,” said Timo Harakka.

“The final stop of Rail Baltica should not be Tallinn but Helsinki. Integrating the tunnel to TEN-T will serve as a new freight gateway to Europe and make our capitals a twin-city,” said TaaviAas.

The MoU says the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel is a unique project of the future that would require innovative actions and diversified sources of funding. Together with Rail Baltica, it would provide a quick access to Central Europe.

The MoU will remain in force until 2030.