EU Allocates Baltic, Balkan Grants

The European Commission (EC) said August 10 it has now allocated €187.5mn for the construction of Balticconnector, the first Estonia-Finland subsea gas pipeline, and has allocated €29.9mn to build a 140-km electricity line between Dobrudja and Burgas in Bulgaria. The two grants were already announced as having been approved by the EC on July 15.

Balticconnector made no corresponding announcement August 10; its project director Matti Sainio told Natural Gas Europe July 15 that the final investment decision was expected this autumn.

Balticconnector's board chairman, Herkko Plit

The EU grants correspond to 75% of Balticconnector’s cost and 50% of those of the Bulgarian line. EU energy and climate change commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said August 10 that Balticconnector would be “part of a chain of projects that will end the gas isolation of northeastern Europe and develop the Baltic regional energy market," while the Bulgaria line would “reinforce security of electricity supply and integrate renewable energy into the electricity market.” 

Meanwhile, as reported by NGE earlier this week, the EC has to decide which, if either, of Estonia’s LNG import projects should receive public funding.

Mark Smedley