Electric power cooperation in the Baltic region and Russia's role in it
This article examines the cooperation in the field of electric power in the Baltic region. The author offers a list of the existing undersea HVDC cables responsible for power exchange. It is emphasised that the cooperation is concentrated largely the EU member states despite the earlier plans to establish the Baltic energy ring, which would also include Russia and Belarus. The author stresses that one of the most acute problems for the EU is the overcoming of the isolation of the Baltics' (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) energy system from that of the major part of the EU. This task has become especially relevant since the closing of the Ignalina NPP (Lithuania), which served as the primary energy source for the three Baltic states. The article examines key projects for new international power transmission lines introduced in the framework of the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP) and the prospects of the Visaginas NPP (Lithuania) in solving the energy problems of the Baltic states. The author analyses Russia's role in the energy market and the prospects for its extension related, first of all, to the construction of the Baltic NPP and the export of generated energy to Poland, Lithuania, Germany, and Sweden. It is concluded that the prospects of Russian energy export to the Baltic region will be determined not only by technological and economic and market factors, but rather by the general state of relations between Russia and the EU. Moreover, a lot depends on Lithuania's decision as to whether to continue the construction of the Visaginas NPP, as well as the way the EU and the Baltics solve the problem of energy supply in case the NPP project is terminated.