Estonia's European Union Policy

128.    To complete Rail Baltic by 2030, sufficient EU funding and a rapid pace of construction of the main railway line must be secured.

129.    The central EU support instrument for building cross-border transport, energy, and communication networks must be continued in the next long-term EU budget period. 

130.    Promoting and funding military mobility and building transport infrastructure that meets the requirements for the rapid movement of heavy military equipment and supplies in a crisis is essential to strengthen Europe’s defence capabilities.

131.    It is important to promote the uptake of coherent digital solutions in the transport sector, which reduce the administrative burden on businesses and facilitate the development of combined transport. The potential of the electronic freight transport information exchange system to be introduced in Europe in 2027 must be applied across the land, air, and maritime transport sectors to ensure seamless data exchange. 

132.    The requirements set in the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation for the installation of charging infrastructure for electric heavy-duty vehicles should be relaxed, and the implementation deadlines postponed by 5 years.

133.    An exemption from the requirement to complete the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) core network by 2030 must be secured for Estonia’s road sections with very low traffic volumes. 

134.    State aid rules for the aviation sector must allow for more expedient and substantial support for air connections and airports in peripheral regions of the European Union in case of market failure. It must also be possible to support the operating costs of airports in sparsely populated areas. The procedures for launching international Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes in border regions of the European Union will have to be sped up by introducing a maximum two-month deadline for the PSO procedure.

135.    It is essential to maintain the manufacturing capacity and innovation of the EU’s maritime industry. Requirements should be introduced in European shipbuilding tendering and procurement procedures that strengthen the European production capacity while ensuring compliance with international trade rules. To speed up the procurement process, a ‘white list’ of companies that have passed background and compliance checks should be implemented for large-scale public contracts (above €3 million). 

136.    In order to avoid double-taxation of ship-owners and operators active in the European Economic Area with regard to the introduction of a global carbon tax in the maritime sector, the relevant EU legislation, including the application of the Emission Trading System to the maritime sector and the RefuelEU Regulation, needs to be reviewed.