On Monday, September 9, Briškens met with the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs to discuss the implementation of the Rail Baltica project, its long-term financing, and the possibility of building stations even before the construction of Rail Baltica so that Škoda trains could reach Riga Airport.
The President of Latvia said after the meeting that he expects from both the Minister of Transport and the government good and transparent management of the capital companies entrusted to the Ministry of Transport and a clear explanation of the decisions taken.
A realistic assessment of the current business plan of airBaltic and its relevance to the economic situation of the country is also expected.
The President of Latvia has also asked the Minister to explain how the Ministry of Transport plans to take into account the conclusions of the State Audit Office audit on problems in the organization of regional passenger transport, pointing out that in the current budgetary situation, there should not be cases when the state budget funds are used beyond the budget possibilities.
The Transport Minister has previously been criticized by both the President and Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) for his communication, but he does not intend to resign.
"No, because we have now identified all the problems and proposed realistic solutions. There are a number of long-standing issues that have not been addressed for many years. On all these issues, the Ministry of Transport has a realistic vision that needs to be followed through. What we have been doing from day one – we have not been hiding," the Minister said.
He repeatedly stated he wants to put the sector in order, as many issues have been swept under the carpet so far.
The ministry plans to prepare the briefing report to the government, which was scheduled to be explained to the public on Monday, within two weeks, and then submit it to the cabinet for consideration by the end of September.
