Estonian government agrees to construction of Rail Baltic line in section canceled in 2020

TALLINN - The Estonian government on Thursday approved the construction of the Rail Baltic railway corridor in the Luitemaa area of Pärnu County, applying a Natura 2000 derogation for this purpose.

The decision allows the continuation of the planning of the railway for the section annulled by the Supreme Court's decision in 2020.

The construction of the railway will affect the Luitemaa bird area, one of whose objectives is the protection of capercaillie habitats. The Natura assessment conducted as part of the strategic environmental impact assessment revealed that no realistic alternative route option can completely rule out an adverse impact on the capercaillie population.

The Ministry of Climate said in a press release that Rail Baltic is a priority infrastructure project for the public, which is also important from a national security point of view and will ensure Estonia's connection to Central Europe. Since it is possible to implement compensation measures to compensate for the damage caused, the conditions for exceptionally allowing activities that damage the Natura 2000 area are met. Large-scale compensation measures are planned to compensate for the damage caused to the Luitemaa bird area.

"The compensation measures include the restoration of capercaillie habitats, the creation of new permanent habitats and the improvement of existing habitats," Climate Minister Yoko Alender said. "The compensation measures must ensure the coherence of the Natura 2000 network and must be implemented before construction work starts."

The measures include, for example, paying for the costs of restoring capercaillie habitats, the protection of permanent habitats and monitoring. The costs will have to be covered by the project developer Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ. There are no alternatives for the construction of the main line in the Luitemaa area that would not affect the Natura site.

Rail Baltic is a strategically important infrastructure project for Estonia that will connect the Baltic countries with Central Europe. Following the government's decision, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications can establish the Rail Baltic Pärnu County spatial plan in the sections annulled by the Supreme Court's decision, and the Ministry of Climate will inform the European Commission about the reasons for applying the Natura derogation and the compensation measures to be applied.