EU Grants Maximum Assistance for Preparatory Work for Lithuania-Poland Pipeline

The European Union granted financial assistance to the Spatial Planning and Engineering Design Works of the Poland-Lithuania Gas Interconnection project, Lithuania’s natural gas transmission operator Amber Grid wrote on Wednesday.  

Under the agreement signed by Amber Grid and Poland’s Gaz-System, the European Union’s Innovation Network Executive Agency (INEA) granted EUR 10.6 million under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

‘The preparatory works of the Project were granted the maximum intensity of the EU financial assistance for studies – 50 percent. Of the total amount, AB Amber Grid was granted EUR 2.5 million, and GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. was granted EUR 8.1 million. Total estimated value of the spatial planning and engineering design works of the Poland-Lithuania Gas Interconnection (GIPL) Project amounts to EUR  21.2 million’ reads a note published on Wednesday. 

The pipeline is meant to integrate the Baltic States gas markets into the European single market. Launch into operation of the GIPL is scheduled for 2020.

The role of infrastructures has been underlined once more by European institutions, which sent messages in this direction over the last hours.  

In one or two weeks, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič will add some flesh to the bones of the Energy Union, he said on Tuesday. During a debate sponsored by Statoil, the European Commissioner underlined the importance of the “governance system we are working at”.  

According to him, after meetings with Member States, European authorities will then consider whether propose an “horizontal legislation” for all the countries.