Estonia wants to impose sanctions against Russian Railways, but its railway sector does not agree

After a new round of sanctions against Russia by the EU, the Estonian Foreign Ministry proposed direct sanctions against Russian Railways, which would mean a complete stop of business between Estonian railway companies and Russian Railways. The Estonian railway sector does not seem to be happy about this proposal, which could lead to billions in losses.

Railway Supply magazine writes about this with reference to RailFreight.

The Estonian proposal was published by the daily newspaper Eesti Päevaleht (EPL). In particular, the whole idea of ​​sanctions will be aimed at stopping the transit of goods between Russia and Estonia, as well as stopping the use of Russian rolling stock and other assets. The EPL report noted that “the Estonian Foreign Ministry sent to Brussels for discussion a proposal to impose sanctions on Russian Railways, after which all economic cooperation with this company will cease.”

From a practical and economic point of view, this would mean that the Estonian operators would lose about one billion euros due to this development, which could also affect the Finnish market. In addition, the Estonian railway sector emphasized that such a move would further strengthen Russian Railways and allow it to dominate transport in Central Asia.

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EU sanctions have already come under some criticism. Especially in the transport sector, where the sanctions appear to have affected more European companies. This does not mean that sanctions should become more severe or more vindictive. On the contrary, they should be the subject of closer and more serious consideration.

In the case of Estonia, the government and the EU must weigh their options very carefully before making any decision, the rail industry argues. In particular, Andres Valgerist, chairman of the board of the Estonian Logistics and Transit Association, told EPL that “the proposal looks like subversion against our country with the help of Russia.” This is because Russia could benefit from tying up the assets of Estonian companies, firstly by purchasing more equipment, and secondly, by making a profit for itself.

It should be noted that the Estonian government has not provided any details about its contingency plans accompanying the sanctions proposal, or whether the proposal could become a reality anytime soon.

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