The European Commission and representatives of the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish governments signed a political declaration on Tuesday 19 December, in the margins of the Energy Council (see EUROPE 13317/1), committing to rapidly pursue the connection of the electricity networks of the three Baltic States to continental Europe, via Poland, by February 2025. The previous deadline was the end of 2025.
As the three Baltic States are the last EU Member States whose electricity networks are still synchronised with Russia and Belarus, their synchronisation with continental Europe is a strategic project of common interest to the EU. Over the last 12 years, this project has benefited from political, technical and financial support from the EU, with more than €1.2 billion in subsidies.
These Member States have also committed to speeding up the development of the Harmony Link interconnector, one of the most important energy infrastructure projects between Lithuania and Poland.
“The war in Ukraine, Russia’s shameless manipulation of EU energy markets and the subsequent energy crisis have underlined the importance of energy independence. This synchronisation project will enable the three Baltic States to take full control of their electricity networks and strengthen energy security in the region”, commented the Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
To see the political declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/a71 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)