Baiba Rubesa, who stepped down as CEO of RB Rail on Thursday, said in a press release that she found it impossible to continue at the helm of the Baltic states' joint venture to build the Rail Baltica railway. The company's current model is "blatantly contrary to the principles of good corporate governance," Rubesa said, blasting the three Baltic governments for having done their part to delay an agreement on the project's funding.

Rubesa described the project as run at the moment to be "neither manageable nor sustainable," and that in its current set-up RB Rail will not manage "to deliver a new economics and security corridor with infrastructure that has a commitment of 85% financing from the European taxpayer."

National interests in the way of financing, implementation agreements

Even after discussions with stakeholders that had been going on for more than a year, there was no sign of an agreement on a sustainable financing model for the joint venture, Rubesa added.

She also pointed out that the same could be said about the project on the whole. The inability of the shareholders (ie. the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian companies set up for the project) to agree on a clear approach how to run the venture, then, has been the main source of project delays, which is threatening the EU side of Rail Baltica's funding, Rubesa said.

The request of Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis was what kept Rubesa from resigning already this summer, she said. "I have chosen to resign now to share with the citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania my profound concern that the Rail Baltica global project is at serious risk of not being properly implemented," Rubesa explained her decision to step down now.

"The conflicts of interests encapsulated in the very roots of the project are the main reason behind the actions and inactions of all involved parties. It is not compatible with my faith and belief in fair and responsible project implementation," Rubesa said.
Baiba Rubesa resigns as CEO of RB Rail

With her resignation, she is hoping to "create a legacy" for her successor as well as the initiative in the population of the three Baltic states to press for changes, she added.

Rubesa: European Commission should get involved

Rubesa continued her press conference with a list of recommendations she says she has sent to the European Commission, select members of the European Parliament, and the heads of government of the Baltic states as well as a handful of other interested countries.

Among them are four specific suggestions how to improve the implementation of future EU cross-border projects.

The first is to give the EU a tangible role in cross-border projects. Financial support for Rail Baltica with CEF grants is at the extremely high level of 85%, but her experience was "that the recommendations and expectations of the European Union as the main investor in the project are barely considered by the national beneficiaries. This is why going forward, the European Commission should be directly involved in the implementation and execution of cross border projects," Rubesa said.

Estonia "dead set against implementation" of joint venture

In connection with this first recommendation, she said that civil servants at the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications have been "dead set against the implementation" of a joint venture, repeatedly stating that the joint venture isn't needed at all, and that "If the Commission wants it, let them pay for it."
Rubesa: EU funding for Rail Baltica unclear after Brexit

Current CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ, Riia Sillave, said according to Rubesa that all the project will do is build tracks, and that they should get started on doing just that as soon as possible—with complete disregard for the project's broader vision and its impact on the three Baltic economies, Rubesa pointed out.

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