EC, Baltics, Poland agree on synchronization in February 2025

VILNIUS - The European Commission, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland on Tuesday signed a political declaration on the synchronization of the Baltic states electricity grids with Western Europe by February 2025.

Signed in Brussels on the sidelines of the EU Energy Council, the document also includes a commitment to accelerate the implementation of the Harmony Link electricity link between Lithuania and Poland and to explore an onshore alternative, the Energy Ministry said.

"The operators have been tasked to examine in detail an onshore alternative to the previously planned offshore link. We hope that next year this will allow us to make final decisions on the implementation of this project," Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said in a statement.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson says synchronization will allow the Baltic states to take full control of their electricity networks, integrate into the European market and strengthen the region's energy security.

"Today is a historic moment when we mark the significant progress made towards the integration of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into our internal energy market and pave the way for the completion of the Baltic synchronization project by February 2025," Simson said in the statement.

The EU has spent more than 1.2 billion euros on the synchronizations of the the Baltic electricity grids with continental Europe over the past 12 years.

In August, the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian prime ministers signed a declaration and committed to synchronize the Baltic electricity grids with Western Europe by February 2025. the initial plan was to do so by the end of 2025.