The Rail Baltica project in Latvia is likely to be implemented in a more restrained format than initially planned. This was stated by Finance Minister Maris Kucinskis in an interview with the LETA agency. According to him, the main task now is to determine which elements of the project the country will be able to build and which ones it will have to abandon. "We must honestly assess our capabilities and decide which facilities we can actually implement and which we cannot," the minister emphasized. At the same time, he ruled out the option of completely withdrawing from participation in Rail Baltica. The minister noted that almost no one expects the entire highway to be completed by 2030. However, stopping the project, according to him, would mean the need to return already received European funds, as well as fulfill obligations to Lithuania and Estonia. Thus, the question today is no longer whether to build or not, but rather what the final scope of the project will be. Kucinskis also believes that the current management system of Rail Baltica needs to be changed. In his opinion, the project should not remain solely under the jurisdiction of individual ministries. He supported Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' initiative to transfer project coordination to the Cabinet of Ministers and create a special working group under the head of government. According to the minister, this will allow for faster decision-making and align the scope of construction with real financial capabilities. Once it becomes clear which facilities will be included in the final version of the project, sources of funding can be determined. Kucinskis reported that major banks have already shown interest in financing, and the possibility of using a public-private partnership mechanism is being considered, as well as a new funding period from the European Union's structural funds. The minister criticized the previous work of the Ministry of Transport, stating that the agency missed the opportunity to attract part of the European funding because it failed to prepare the necessary projects in a timely manner. When asked whether this means that Latvia will ultimately focus primarily on the construction of the railway line itself, Kucinskis replied that this option currently seems the most likely, although such a decision has not yet been officially made. The minister also touched upon the topic of costly contracts concluded within the framework of the project. According to him, some of these contracts have already been handed over to law enforcement agencies for assessment, but he does not have information on the progress of the investigation. In the near future, the government will need to determine the final model for implementing Rail Baltica. Only after that will it become clear which facilities will be built first and how their financing will be organized.