Ratas: Estonia in favor of building LNG terminal in Baltic-Polish region
A meeting of the Baltic and Polish prime ministers scheduled for Monday is to discuss among other things a planned liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal in the region. According to Estonian prime minister, Jüri Ratas (Center), the question if and where the terminal is to be built needs to be answered looking at the market’s requirements.
Ratas told ERR that Estonia supported the plan of a regional LNG terminal. A survey requested by the European Commission found that the coast of the Gulf of Finland would be the best place to build it. In case of market failure, i.e. if there is no investment by companies, the countries could file for financial support from the commission as well.
The prime minister said that the provisional solution, a terminal on a leased ship in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, had added supply sources, but in the long term the LNG terminal along the coast of the Gulf of Finland was the right way to go.
Monday’s meeting will also discuss how to synchronize the Baltic electricity network with that of the European Union. Currently, the network frequency is that of the Russian system, which is a situation that the Baltic states want to move away from out of political as well as market considerations.
The options are to synchronize either by going through Sweden or through Poland. Analyses have found that Poland economically would be the more sensible option.
Other topics on the meeting’s agenda include security in the region, the construction of Rail Baltic, and questions related to the future of the European Union.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
