Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania closed the accounts with Moscow and Minsk, definitively detaching themselves from theirs electric networks To connect to that of the European Union through Poland. A strategic leap that guarantees the three countries full control over its infrastructure, embracing the European rules and leaving behind the old addiction dynamics.
A strategic investment for energy security
The attachment to the EU network, reads the official document, is a master blow that Brussels has supported with a rain of funds. More than 1.23 billion euros they arrived from the program Connecting Europe Facilitycovering 75% of the total expenditure. To complete the package, further resources from the Recovery and Resilience Facility have strengthened the infrastructures of Latvia and Lithuania, consolidating their new energy autonomy.
To celebrate the passage, in the center of Vilnius a large screen was installed with a countdown culminated with an official ceremony. Among those present, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, several European officials and local political leaders.
These are the words of the president: “Today the story is written: the Baltic countries light up energy independence. The latest electrical networks still connected to Russia are now part of the internal market of the European Union, thanks to over a billion euros of European funding. The latest power lines with Russia and Belarus will be dismantled. These connections with hostile neighbors belong to the past. This is freedom. Freedom from threats and blackmail. Congratulations for the beginning of this new era “.
The next objectives for completing the plan
The management of the final stages of the project, reads the official document, is entrusted to Catharina Sikow-Magnyin charge of supervising Baltic integration into the European system. Among the next stages, the realization of Harmony Linkan interconnection of 700 MW between Lithuania and Poland, whose completion is scheduled for 2030.
The transition is not without risk. In recent months, the episodes of damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Seafeeding suspicions about possible sabotage acts. In response, NATO has launched the Baltic Sentry mission to protect critical infrastructures, using ships, drones and aerial patrols.
A project developed in the long run
The idea of disconnecting from the Russian system is not new. It is discussed at least since 2014after the annexation of Crimea by Russia. However, the process suffered an acceleration following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, leading the three countries to interrupt the purchase of energy from Russia.
In the summer of 2024, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania officially notified their exit from the Ball system, which connected them to Russia and Belarus. From that moment, there was no lack of disinformation campaigns on the risk of blackout, costs of costs and supply problems, then denied by Baltic governments.
More than 40 initiatives have been financed to support the process, with the involvement of the European Network of Transmission System for Electricity (ENSSO-E) and the managers of continental electrical networks. In addition, additional resources from the Recovery and Resilience Facility contributed to the strengthening of the accumulation systems in Latvia and Lithuania.
