Ratas not to discuss RB Rail CEO matter with colleagues before March
According to the current plans of Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center), he will not be discussing the issue of RB Rail CEO Baiba Rubesa with Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis and Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis before March.
"Currently it has not been planned," government spokesperson Triin Oppi told BNS when askd whether Ratas was planning to discuss the matter involving Rubesa with his Baltic colleagues. "As far as I know, they are not officially communicating regarding the issue."
Ratas is scheduled to meet with Kučinskis and Skvernelis at the beginning of March, however.
"The Baltic prime ministers are to hold a regular meeting on March 8-9," Oppi said, adding that it was scheduled a long time ago already and that it had not yet been decided what would be discussed at this meeting.
Kučinskis wants to talk Rubesa with Ratas, Skvernelis
According to spokesperson Andrejs Vaivars, Kučinskis wants to hear the justification behind the Estonian and Lithuanian shareholders' vote of no-confidence against Rubesa. He was unable to specify, however, when the meeting might take place.
RB Rail AS, the joint venture established to oversee the Rail Baltica railroad project, announced last Friday that Baiba Rubesa does not intend to resign as CEO despite the expression of no confidence in her by two of three shareholders the previous day.
At the shareholder meeting held on Thursday, representatives of Estonia and Lithuania voted to express no confidence in Rubesa, while Latvia abstained.
Riia Sillave, CEO of Estonian shareholder Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ, said on Friday that shareholders of RB Rail AS on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction with the actions of RB Rail CEO Baiba Rubesa, but the project will continue as planned.
The issue will next be discussed by RB Rail's supervisory board, which will decide whether Rubesa will continue as head of the company. The next planned supervisory board meeting is scheduled to take place in mid-March.
Rubesa was elected CEO of RB Rail in October of 2015. Prior to accepting the position, she had previously led Statoil Latvia, worked at Statoil's Azerbaijan branch, and was on the supervisory board of the Latvian bank Citadele.
Shareholders in RB Rail AS include Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ, Latvia's SIA Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas and Lithuania's UAB Rail Baltica statyba.
RB Rail AS is the central coordinator for the Rail Baltica project for the construction of a high speed rail line to run from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS