Since the Russian aggression against Ukraine began on 24 February this year, and due to Russia using energy as an instrument of war, the EU, including the CEE countries, is de facto in a state of economic warfare with Russia, and energy is one of its key areas. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is also one of the major factors causing probably the most serious energy crisis in Europe since the Second World War, which will also substantially a‑ect the Central and South-East European economies. As both the war and the crisis are still ongoing, it is dicult to predict their exact depth and to map all the consequences for both the countries of the region and the EU as a whole. At the same time, it is already apparent that they are leading to profound changes in the raw materials and energy markets, provoking changes in the energy balances of individual countries, and finally transforming trade and infrastructure links. The upcoming winter, and also the next one, will be a serious challenge and stress test for each of the CEE and SEE countries. Despite the measures taken by all countries to prepare for and minimise the negative e‑ects of the crisis, they are vulnerable to further deterioration in the availability of natural resources, increases in energy prices, and other market disruptions. These vulnerabilities can be seen, for example, in the performance of regional economies, but also in the emergence of social protests and changes in the political scene. Consequently, EU support and action should strive to ensure solidarity and assistance to counteract the most serious e‑ects of the crisis [...]
CEEP welcomes the publication by the European Commission of the detailed RePowerEU plan to make the EU independent from Russian fossil fuels. We strongly share this goal as it has been advocated by CEEP and its members for a long time. This goal is becoming even more urgent today, viewed in the context of continued Russian aggression on Ukraine. CEE countries and their companies have for years pointed out the dangers associated with the EU's growing dependence on gas and oil imports from Russia and risks related to the continued dominance of Russian companies, including Gazprom, in the EU and individual Member States' markets. CEE countries have also sought for years to counter these threats. CEEP's statement [...]
The EU ETS has a central role in promoting and facilitating green transition in energy and industry sectors. The current reform provides an opportunity to redesign the EU ETS to help companies implement their carbon-neutrality strategies more effectively and leave no consumers behind. In the context of high carbon prices, even more, attention is needed to ensure that the safeguards are effective in limiting the unnecessary cost of decarbonisation. CEEP participated in the working diner co-hosted by three MEPs in Strasbourg last month. The main topic was the EU ETS reform, with a focus on speculation and on the funding mechanisms. The participants exchanged views on possible solutions to redesign the EU ETS so that it is fit for its purpose, fair, and can work for all to ensure clean and affordable energy to power our households and economy. Next month, CEEP with ERCST will also provide an overview of the size and functioning of the funding mechanisms which are part of the revised EU ETS and the Fit for 55 Package, i.e. the Social Climate Fund, and will put forward some recommendations in light of the ongoing legislative [...]
The electricity grids of Ukraine and Moldova have been successfully synchronised with the Continental European Grid on the 16th of March. This acceleration of the synchronisation project ongoing since 2017 has been possible thanks to the previous studies carried out and the adoption of risk mitigation measures. This is a great achievement on both technical and political levels, especially since the request from the Ukrainian and Moldovan sides came on the 27th and 28th of February. Credits for this significant milestone go to the Continental Europe TSOs and especially to Ukrenergo and Moldelectrica which are operating their respective power systems under extremely difficult circumstances. It is also a success of the European Commission and national authorities who provided important support and assistance in the synchronisation process. The successful synchronisation ends Ukraine’s dependence on the Russian power grid system and will allow Ukraine to have a stable electricity system in place. Until the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, most of Ukraine and Moldova were part of the Russian synchronous system, thus relying on that more extensive system to maintain the frequency in Ukraine. Source: [...]
PERN, a CEEP member company, is the Polish leader in crude oil and fuels logistics and a strategic company that guarantees energy security in the area of oil supplies in Poland, but also in the European Union. A company is prepared for a ban on oil imports from Russia thanks to its developed pipeline system, fuel depots and oil terminal at the Baltic sea coast. President of PERN Igor Wasilewski in a recent interview for Biznes Alert underlined that PERN has done its homework in the area of energy security. ‘’We have expanded the storage infrastructure in Gdańsk thus it is possible to import various types of oil from different directions of the world and currently, we have almost two million cubic meters of storage capacity by the sea itself”, he stated. A company has among its main customers two Polish and two German refineries. PERN pipeline system has already been tested in 2019 during the chlorine crisis (Russian oil delivered to Poland was contaminated with chlorides), when for 46 days it was supplied solely from the oil terminal in Gdansk. Operational efficiency and investments have made that today PERN is prepared for the option of zero oil supplies from Russia. ‘’The war in Ukraine has shown that the diversification of raw material supplies is fundamental for the security of any country and we cannot focus only on one direction. I can say that today the annual demand of the Polish refineries is about 27 million tons. This means that the oil terminal in Gdańsk (36 million tons) still has a margin to offer the capacity to its German [...]
GAZ-SYSTEM signed contract with Saipem Limited for the performance of works related to laying the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The scope of this contract covers also the landfalls where the offshore part will be connected with the onshore components in Poland and Denmark. The contract value is approximately EUR 280 million and it has been co-financed by the EU. At present, Gaz-System has already all necessary permits and binding agreements with all the main contractors and suppliers necessary to start construction of the gas pipeline to connect the Danish and Polish shores. Baltic Pipe, the project that is key for Poland’s energy security and of importance to the European Union, is being implemented in strict accordance with the adopted schedule. Gas transmission from the Norwegian shelf to Poland along this new route will start on 1st October 2022. The contract with Saipem covers the following main elements: construction of two microtunnels on the Danish and Polish shores (the technology will help protect the beaches, cliffs and other elements of the natural environment), transport of pipes from the marshalling yard to pipelay vessels, joining the pipes to form the pipeline and lowering it to the Baltic Sea bottom, pipeline installation and its stabilisation as well as the performance of all works to protect both the pipeline and its crossings with other subsea infrastructure, connecting the offshore pipeline with Baltic Pipe onshore components in Poland and Denmark, performance of tests, participation in commissioning of the offshore part as well as checking its functioning within the rest of the Baltic Pipe infrastructure in both countries. According to the schedule, first works [...]
We represent the widely understood Central Europe energy sector (electricity generation, distribution and transmission, renewables, gas, oil, heat generation and distribution, chemical industries, etc.), universities and scientific institutions.
