Duda hails Baltics joining European power grid
Polish President Andrzej Duda has called the full integration of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into the European Union's power grid "a groundbreaking event."
On Sunday, he left for Lithuania to attend a ceremony marking the country's formal synchronisation with the European energy network CESA (Continental Europe Synchronous Area) via the Poland-Lithuania LitPol Link, thereby completing the Baltic states’ transition away from the Russian power system.
"This is a very important moment, because for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union, since Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia gained independence, they will break out of this Russian system, in which Russia and Belarus remain today, and will synchronise with the European Union system," Duda told reporters before flying to Vilnius.
"Together with us, they will form a whole within the European Union, ensuring security and energy sovereignty," he said.
Duda said that Sunday's ceremony in Vilnius was also an important moment for him because the process of building the LitPol Link which connects the Baltic transmission system to the synchronous grid of continental Europe started under the late Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
The Baltic states were the last in the EU not to be connected to the CESA transmission system and operated within the framework of energy cooperation using post-Soviet infrastructure. On Saturday morning they disconnected from the Moscow-controlled energy system.
The decision to cut ties with Russia and Belarus’ grids was made more than 10 years ago due to changes in political relations between the EU, the Baltic countries and Russia. Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated the implementation of this process. (PAP)
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