The governments of Finland and Estonia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to exchange information in order to promote large-scale transport projects.
These projects include the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel, Rail Baltica, Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and North Sea-Baltic Sea core network corridor.
The Finnish government says in a statement that the MoU provides an improved environment for applying EU funding for the projects.
Timo Harakka, Finnish minister of transport and communications, says both 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,” Harakka continues.
“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."
The MoU states that the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel would require actions and diversified sources of funding. Together with Rail Baltica, it is expected to provide quick access to Central Europe.
Taavi Aas, Estonian minister of economic affairs and infrastructure, says: "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.”
In 2018, the FinEst Link project published the results of the feasibility study of the Helsinki-Tallinn railway tunnel.
A working group of representatives of the Finnish and Estonian ministries of transport and communications and the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn will now assess the follow-up action required.
The MoU will be in force until 2030.
