Energy, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Gas, Investments

On a Friday afternoon at the end of June, just before Victory Day and Midsummer's Day, Elering announced unexpectedly that it submitted the application for investment to Estonian and Finnish regulators for building the Balticconnector gas pipeline, but without the Finnish cooperation partner Gasum.

CEO of Elering Taavi Veskimägi explained that while the original plan was that Elering and Finnish Gasum would apply for financing together, in the middle of June it became clear that the Finns will not join the financing application at incomprehensible motives despite repeated negotiations.

This is one part of the agreement concluded between Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas and the then Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb, according to which a regional LNG terminal would being built in Finland and the Baltic countries would be connected to that via Balticconnector.

Balticconnector deadlock could in turn jeopardize the development of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project for the whole region.

Äripäev has information that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications plans to hold a crisis meeting in the near future, where in cooperation with diplomats, officials will attempt to find a solution to the difference of interpretation between the two countries on the agreement and find common grounds.

Äripäev tried to get an explanation from the Finns, but their answers were either unclear or very concise.