Poland and Lithuania fight for EU funds for Harmony Link hit by war in Ukraine
The Harmony Link project exceeded financial estimates when everything became more expensive due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lithuanians completed a successful island test, among other things, thanks to cooperation with Poles. Now they are fighting for money.
The HVDC DC cable between Poland and Lithuania called Harmony Link was supposed to be ready in 2025, so that the Baltics could synchronize their grid with the EU. However, the inflation, caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has doubled the estimated cost of this project, leading to the delays BiznesAlert.pl has written about previously.
Now Poland and Lithuania are jointly seeking EU funds for this purpose. On April 22, Vilnius conducted another island test of the electricity system, cutting off from the post-Soviet BRELL system, which includes Belarus and Lithuania. „This is a success for Lithuania,” said Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska. „We have worked together from the beginning,” she added.
Minister Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska also referred to the Harmony Link project. „I asked the European Commission, because these budgets have changed because of the war,” she admitted, referring to the increase in the cost of the project, which was originally estimated at 750 million euros, of which 500 million were provided by the Commission as co-financing. Now the cost is estimated at 1.5 billion euros. It is to be implemented by PSE and Amber Grid.
Wojciech Jakóbik
A climate foundation established to build NS2 mired in corruption
The National Court in Schwerin and the Higher National Court in Rostock found that the Klima- und Umweltschutz foundation has been involved in serious corruption.
The department that handled orders to finish the Nord Stream 2 construction was headed by Steffen Petersen who was anointed by Gazprom. He handled 119 contracts worth 174 million euros with 80 suppliers. Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported that Petersen „had signed a one-million-euro contract with his older brother’s mini-GmbH, which in result became the 8th biggest contractor of the foundation’s economic department. A total of nine contracts initiated by Petersen indicate a significant conflict of interest. This applies to contracts with a total value of almost 90 million euros,” reports Welt am Sonntag. But Petersen not only gave lucrative contracts to members of his family, but also to companies he co-owned. Companies were created to receive contracts from the foundation. One such example is Rokai Gmbh, which has been contracted for services worth 36 million euros.
The foundation was founded by the state government and Gazprom with the aim of circumventing US sanctions and completing the construction of Nord Stream 2. Gazprom supported the foundation with hundreds of millions of dollars. The board of the foundation was headed by the former prime minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Despite promises, the board has not dismissed anybody.
Die Welt/Ostsee-Zeitung / Aleksandra Fedorska