Finland and Estonia agreed to boost cooperation in protecting underwater energy transmission connections, and to further improve the surveillance and resiliance of the underwater gas and electricity infrastructure connecting the countries.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline damaged in October 2023 has been repaired and two submarine power cables between the countries (Estlink 1 and Estlink 2) are located in the Gulf of Finland.
“These transmission connections are an essential part of the energy markets and security of energy supply in Finland and Estonia. They also even out price fluctuations,” the Finnish government said in a statement on Friday.
Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Estonian Ministry of Climate signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) concerning the protection and repair of underwater energy infrastructure on 27 September 2024.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed the security environment in Finland and Europe for the long term. Changes in the security environment are also reflected in the Baltic Sea.
Finland and Estonia thus consider it necessary to increase cooperation and share best practices in order to monitor and protect the infrastructure in developing ways. Improving the capacity for transmission connection repairs is also a natural area of cooperation.
The Underwater Energy Infrastructure MoU was signed by Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen and Estonia’s Minister of Climate Yoko Alender in Helsinki on Friday.
The purpose of the MoU is to outline the structures within which Finland and Estonia can develop their cooperation on the monitoring and repair of underwater energy infrastructure connections.
“Recent events have made it evident that critical infrastructure needs to be protected and the energy market secured. The energy relations between Finland and Estonia are important for both. We have had excellent cooperation and we will intensify it now with regard to underwater energy connections,” Mykkänen says.
“The underwater energy systems connecting Estonia and Finland are critical for the energy security of both countries. The memorandum is a joint step towards a stable and secure energy future. We agree on clear directions for cooperation to ensure the competitiveness, resilience, and security of both countries’ energy sectors, as well as a stable electricity price,” says the Minister of Climate Yoko Alender.
During his state visit to Estonia in May 2024, President Alexander Stubb discussed the protection of underwater infrastructure connecting the countries with the Estonians.
After that, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment launched preparatory work to draft a MoU with the Estonian Ministry of Climate. The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs were consulted in the preparation of the MoU.
The MoU aims to define a not legally binding framework for developing cooperation between the countries.
It could, for example, examine existing monitoring and security measures to ensure the protection of underwater energy infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and improve the exchange of information, cooperation between experts and researchers and sharing of technological knowledge.
A joint steering group of the countries will continue the work.
