Press statement by President von der Leyen with President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister of Estonia, Jüri Ratas, Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, and Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš

Good morning,

I am very pleased to welcome the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to the European Commission. Today is a very important day for Europe. We are taking a big step toward connecting Europe. And we are showing European solidarity in action.

Last night, we awarded EUR 720 million from the Connecting Europe Facility to link the Baltic energy grid with the rest of Europe. This project is a landmark moment. It is a landmark moment in ending the isolation of the Baltic energy market. Most of the funding will go to a new interconnector in the Baltic Sea. And I cannot think of a better name than ‘Harmony Link’.

It will reduce the region’s over-dependence and over-reliance on a single source of energy imports by connecting it in full harmony to the rest of the European Union. It also looks into the future. The new offshore energy grid will bring electricity from renewables to all countries around the Baltic Sea.

And that is why I welcome the Baltic Declaration for Offshore Wind Energy signed this week by the Commission and eight Member States. This project is good for connecting Europe, good for our energy security, and it is good for the European Green Deal.

It demonstrates that in this Union, no matter where you are on the map, you are always at the heart of Europe.

Thank you.