Baltic nations switch off Russian electricity

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have cut their ties to Russian electricity and hooked up to Europe's power grid in the Baltic nations' latest move towards being closer members of the European Union.

The countries, which were part of the former Soviet Union until its breakup in 1991, had relied on Moscow for electricity since the 1950s but switched to European sources this week.

During a switch-over ceremony in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, Gitanas Nauseda, the country's president, said: "Our joint success … shows the true value of solidarity and unity, the core principles of the European Union. It sends a strong message of encouragement across the entire continent."

The event, which the countries dubbed Baltic Energy Independence Day, featured a 9-meter-tall clock that counted down the final seconds of connectivity to Russia's power grid.

The countries will now share energy with fellow EU members, via power lines running through Finland, Sweden, and Poland.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU's executive, the European Commission, said at the ceremony that the switch-over was a symbol of European unity and integration.

"It is about proving once again that when we come together, we can move mountains," she said. "Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia: you are at the heart of Europe. You worked tirelessly for this moment, and today all of Europe celebrates with you."

Reuters quoted Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, as saying the switch-over was "a victory for freedom and European unity".

Ahead of the switch-over, the nations had spent years dismantling power lines connecting them to Russia, and constructing new lines linking them to the EU, telling Russia in 2024 they would eventually completely sever their connections to its energy grid.

As the final part of the switch-over unfolded on the weekend, residents of the three countries charged appliances and stockpiled food and water, just in case there were problems, but everything went according to plan.

Professor David Smith, from the Baltic Research Unit at the University of Glasgow, told the BBC the switch-over took many years to complete.

"It's the culmination of efforts over more than 10 years or 20 years, to reduce that energy dependence," he said. "When the Baltic States joined the EU and NATO, everybody talked about them being an energy island that was still dependent on that joint electricity network with Belarus and Russia. That's been completely broken now."

Dan Jorgensen, the EU's energy commissioner, told the Politico news website the switch-over will "strengthen security of supply" for the entire 27-country bloc.

"The EU has heavily invested in this project, over 1.2 billion euros ($1.24 billion)," he said. "These are the kind of projects that make our energy union stronger."

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