At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the government consented to allow Minister of Economic Affairs Taavi Aas (Center) to sign the agreement with Finland. Its contents will be made public after signing, the government office said. The agreement of intent does not mean a tunnel will definitely be built in the future.

The agreement means the plan can be added to the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) which creates the possibility to apply for European funding in the future.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said it is too early to say exactly how the tunnel will be built.

"But in the case of such a huge project, it is important that both countries express their will," she said. "I hope that the protocol will be signed and that we can move forward with preparations for the possible construction of the tunnel by the state."

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications will re-launch the Tallinn-Helsinki Tunnel Working Group in the near future which includes representatives from both governments and Tallinn and Helsinki city governments.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications must submit an overview of the project development to the government in the third quarter.

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