Estonia, Finland to step up cooperation in protection of undersea energy infrastructure

TALLINN – Estonia's Climate Minister Yoko Alender and Finland's Minister of the Environment and Climate Kai Mykkänen signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to ensure the resilience and security of critical undersea infrastructure, including through enhancing surveillance capabilities.

The purpose of the memorandum of understanding is to outline the structures within which Finland and Estonia can develop their cooperation on the monitoring and repair of underwater energy connections. 

Increasing the resilience of critical undersea infrastructure helps prevent damage and allows for the rapid identification and resolution of problems when they occur. To this end, a steering group will be set up under the memorandum to examine existing monitoring, protection and security measures to ensure a better overview of the undersea energy infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The exchange of information, cooperation between experts and researchers, and the sharing of technological knowledge will also be stepped up.

"The underwater energy systems connecting Estonia and Finland are critical for the energy security of both countries. The memorandum is a joint step towards a stable and secure energy future. We agree on clear directions for cooperation to ensure the competitiveness, resilience, and security of both countries' energy sectors, as well as a stable electricity price," the Estonian minister said.

The Finnish minister said recent events have made it evident that critical infrastructure needs to be protected and the energy market secured. The energy relations between Finland and Estonia are important for both.

"We have had excellent cooperation and we will intensify it now with regard to underwater energy connections," Mykkänen said.

Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine has fundamentally changed the security environment in Finland and Europe for the long term. Changes in the security environment are also reflected in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian Ministry of Climate said in the press release.  

Finland and Estonia therefore consider it necessary to further improve the surveillance and resilience of the underwater gas and electricity infrastructure connecting the countries. This will be achieved by increasing cooperation and sharing best practices in order to monitor and protect the infrastructure in developing ways. Improving the capacity for transmission connection repairs is also a natural area of cooperation. 

The Balticconnector gas pipeline damaged in October 2023 has been repaired. There are also two submarine power cables between the countries, Estlink 1 and Estlink 2, on the bottom of the Gulf of Finland. These transmission connections are an essential part of the energy markets and security of energy supply in Finland and Estonia. They also even out price fluctuations.

During his state visit to Estonia in May 2024, Finnish President Alexander Stubb discussed the protection of underwater infrastructure connecting the countries with Estonian officials. After that, Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment launched preparatory work to draft a memorandum of understanding with the Estonian Ministry of Climate.

The ministries of defense and the ministries of foreign affairs of both countries were consulted during the preparation of the memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum defines a non-legally-binding framework for advancing cooperation between the countries. A joint steering group of the countries will continue the work.