Government pledge to curb Russian grain transit remains unfulfilled
Latvia's government has not raised the railway infrastructure fee by the 300% promised before the elections. European Union rules do not allow such a large tariff increase.
The Latvian government's pre-election promises to restrict the transit of Russian grain across Latvia have so far not materialised. The railway infrastructure fee, which carriers pay for running trains, has not been increased by the announced 300%. This means the main tool promised for stopping the grain transit has not been introduced on the scale pledged.
Why the pledge has not been met
European Union (EU) regulations do not permit raising the tariff by that much at all. The promise made ahead of the elections therefore cannot be carried out in the way it was announced.
Questions over the government's conduct
The situation raises questions about the cabinet led by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, who represents the "United List" alliance. It is unclear whether the government was unaware of the EU limits before making its decision, or whether the public was misled before the elections.
The source article concludes that the fight against Russian grain transit has so far been serious only in words, not in concrete decisions.
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