European solidarity on Energy: Synchronisation of the Baltic States' electricity network with the European system strengthens security of supply | WPN World People News

The President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker together with the Heads of State or Government of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, on June 28, agreed on the Political Roadmap for synchronising the Baltic States' electricity grid with the continental European network by the target date of 2025.

The Leaders called for swift completion of the project.

On June 28, at a special ceremony in Brussels the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker,together with the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas, the Prime Minister of Latvia Māris Kučinskis and the Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, has signed the Political Roadmap on the synchronisation of the Baltic States' electricity networks with the continental European network. This follows the meeting on 22 March 2018, where President Juncker and the same Leaders gave the synchronisation project a renewed impetus.

President Jean-Claude Juncker said on June 28: "Since the beginning of our mandate my Commission has been committed to have full integration of the Baltic States grids with the rest of Europe. It is our duty and a question of necessity for the Baltic States and for the Union. We have worked to build consensus, and have now signed such consensus. In this Roadmap we set the target date of 2025 for the full synchronisation. When people are in sync, things work out well. Today we are witnessing a project where we decided to work together and in sync towards a common goal. With patience, hard work and a spirit of compromise we managed to find European solutions that are built on solidarity and strengthen our Union."

The Heads of State or Government thanked all involved for the speedy progress of the preparatory work, conducted by Ministers of Energy of the respective countries in cooperation with Vice-President for the Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič and Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete. Leaders also reiterated that in order for the project to be successful, the support from Connecting Europe Facility funds will be crucial.

The Political Roadmap, on June 28, signed sets the scene for the practical implementation by presenting a clear timetable of actions. The first of such action is the launch, this September, of the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) procedure as a first technical step for extending the Continental European Network to the Baltic States. This project is a cornerstone and one of the most emblematic projects of the Energy Union and a concrete expression of solidarity in energy security. The synchronisation process is crucial to complete the integration of the Baltic States with the European energy system. It will constitute a major contribution to the unity and energy security of the European Union.

Source: European Commission