Brussels, 3 August 2023
The Commission warmly welcomes today’s agreement by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to accelerate the integration of their electricity grids with the Continental Europe network (CEN) and their disconnection from Russia and Belarus.
Under a joint declaration signed this morning by the three Prime Ministers, the deadline for synchronisation is brought forward from the end of 2025 (as initially established by political declarations in 2018 and 2019) to February 2025. Today’s political declaration follows an agreement between the respective Transmission System Operators (TSOs) earlier this week on the steps for accomplishing the fully-fledged synchronisation in February 2025.
The relevant grids reinforcements are a Project of Common Interest (PCI) on the Union’s fifth PCI list under the TEN-E Regulation and have received record financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy of more than € 1.2 billion. The full integration of the Baltic States into the internal energy market will also facilitate the uptake of renewable energy, supporting them achieve the European Green Deal objectives.
Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson said:
“The integration in the EU of the electricity grids of the Baltic States is the last step to ensure energy security in the region. I would like to congratulate the three Baltic leaders today for this historical agreement, which will enable us to complete the full integration of the Baltic states into the EU electricity grid almost one year earlier than previously intended. This has been a priority EU energy infrastructure project for the Commission for many years, receiving substantial EU funding, and will continue to receive support until it is completed. Today’s agreement is a symbol of European solidarity in action. The project will not only bring energy security in the region and complete the EU integration of the three Baltic States, but will also support the implementation of the Green Deal by ensuring secure, affordable and sustainable energy for the Eastern Baltic Sea region and the Union as a whole.”
More information is available online.
Source – EU Commission