Estonia signs up for Polish-Lithuanian gas pipeline
Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas signed a joint declaration in Brussels with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Polish and Latvian prime ministers Ewa Kopacz and Laimdota Straujuma, and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaité participated in the signing of a joint declaration in Brussels on the establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian gas pipeline, aimed at increasing energy security in the region.
"Today's signature is about European solidarity. It is about leaders taking responsible decisions to increase our security and strengthen our resilience. Today we have done much more than bringing the energy isolation of the Baltic states to an end. We have brought the region further together. Today we have agreed on European infrastructure that will unite us, instead of dividing us,” Juncker said.
In addition, Estonian and Finnish developers submitted a joint application for financing the development of a gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland.
According to Rõivas, these steps are necessary for achieving energy security and energy independence.
Lithuania–Poland natural gas interconnection pipeline is expected to be finished by 2019 and forms a part of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan project. The expected capacity of the pipeline is 2.3 billion cubic metres per annum with possibility to expand it to 4.5 billion cubic metres per annum. Expected cost of the project is 471 million euros.
Editor: S. Tambur