Commission directs more money for investment projects in the Baltic Sea region

As a response to the economical crisis, the European Commission has presented proposals to invest in key energy and Internet broadband infrastructure projects in 2009-2010. The projects will stimulate the EU economy in the short term, while at the same time target strategic goals such as energy security. These proposals are part of the implementation of the EU Recovery Plan endorsed by the European Council in December 2008.

The Commission has adopted a list of projects to direct € 5 billion of unspent money from the EU budget. Around € 4 billion will be spent to reinforce the EU´s energy supply and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. € 1 billion will help rural areas get online, bring new jobs and help businesses grow. In the Baltic Sea region, for example, € 150 million is envisaged for project Skanled (gas interconnector for Poland, Denmark and Sweden). Electricity interconnectors set up by Estlink-2 (Estonia, Finland) project will be supported with € 100 million. And € 150 million are planned for offshore wind projects with capacity of 1.5 GW in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland.

For more detailed info and the list of eligible project please refer to europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/142&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en.