Poland, Baltic States sign agreement on gas pipeline construction
VILNIUS. Oct 15 (Interfax/BNS) - Representatives of Poland, the Baltic States and the European Commission signed an agreement on the construction of a 534-kilometer gas pipeline between Lithuania and Poland (Gas Interconnector Poland-Lithuania, GIPL), which is meant to reduce the Baltic States' dependence on Russia, deepen the integration of European markets and boost the reliability of energy supplies.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday that the investments of the EU in this project are the largest such investments in the European Union's history.
The project costs 558 million euro. The European Commission will allocate 295 million euro from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Fund of the European Commission for the project, another 10 million euro will be allocated for studies. Of this sum, Lithuania was presented with 55 million euro, Poland - 240.3 million euro. Poland itself will invest 120 million euro in the project, Lithuania - 54.9 million euro, Latvia - 29.4 million euro and Estonia - 1.5 million euro.
These are investments, which will bring dividends in the future, guarantee the free movement of energy to Europe. It is necessary to guarantee the security of energy supplies and diversify resources, Juncker said.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said that the signing of the agreement is an important step toward the EU Energy Union.
Gribauskaite said that this is a decisive step in the creation of the Energy Union of the EU, about which there is an agreement. It is also an important step for the competitiveness and general well-being of the EU.
The new gas pipeline is meant to provide for the possibility of gas supplies from Lithuania to Latvia and Estonia. The construction of the gas pipeline is planned to begin in 2016 and it will be complete in 2019.
