A deal to construct the first natural gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia has been signed at the presence of the two countries' prime ministers and the president of the EU Commission.
Under the deal, the EU is to invest Eur187 million EU in the Balticconnector pipeline, covering 75% of total costs of the project, the EU Commission said in a statement October 21.
“This gas interconnector will end the energy isolation of Finland which is largely dependent on a single supplier” it said, adding that when the gas starts flowing by 2020, this project will unite the Eastern Baltic Sea region with the rest of the EU energy market.
Currently, Finland is largely dependent on gas flows from Russia, with the three Baltic States also relying until recently on gas imports from a single gas source.
To diversify European gas supply sources away from an over-dependence on Russian supplies has been a key energy policy objective at EU level in recent years, particularly in the light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and deriving risks of disruptions to supplies.
The Balticconnector pipeline will consist of three sections: 22 km Finnish onshore, 80 km offshore and 50 km Estonian onshore, enabling the transport of 7.2 million cubic metres of gas per day with flows running in both directions.
It is expected, together with the Gas Interconnector Poland–Lithuania (GIPL), to contribute to increasing energy security within the region, the statement said.
“As part of the Energy Union, we are building missing energy links, uniting markets, improving security of supply and ending the energy isolation of member states” commented the president of the EU Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
“Regional co-operation and EU's contribution allows for a change from entirely closed to one of the most diversified and open regional energy markets in the Union with further prospects in upcoming years,” stressed the prime minister of Estonia, Taavi Roivas.
Until 2020, some Eur5.35 billion will be invested in European priority projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) aimed at enhancing security of supply and market integration, the statement added.
