Ratas emphasized that it was a common goal of the three Baltic states to ensure a diverse and secure gas supply to the Baltics, according to a government press release. To this end, Estonia has proceeded from the position that the regional LNG terminal should be established on the basis of market logic.

"The regional LNG solution must be cost-effective and sustainable in the long term and I believe this would be ensured by an LNG terminal project that is undertaken by private investors," explained the Estonian prime minister.

Regarding the potential location of the future regional terminal, Ratas said that the Estonian government and Estonian developers had proceeded based on the decisions made and analyses conducted at both the regional and EU levels.

The study ordered by the European Commission found that the coast of the Gulf of Finland would be the best place to construct a regional LNG terminal. "When we speak of long-term solutions, the most reasonable would be to construct the terminal here, in Paldiski, for example," he noted.

The proposed regional LNG terminal on the coast of the Gulf of Finland was an important element in a package that also included the Balticconnector gas interconnection between Estonia and Finland as well as the GIPL gas interconnection between Lithuania and Poland. This list of major gas infrastructure projects was agreed upon in 2013 with the aim of connecting the Baltic states and Finland to the EU's single gas market, thus creating opportunities for the diversification of gas supply sources.