Russia's Permanent Mission to the EU calls the Baltic States' withdrawal from BRELL a political move

The withdrawal of the Baltic states from the unified energy system of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (BRELL) is political in nature. This is stated in a statement of the Russian post mission to the EU on February 8.

"The withdrawal of the Baltic States from the BRELL energy ring is a politically motivated step that will lead to an increase in regional electricity prices, make energy systems less reliable and further undermine the economic competitiveness of the EU," the diplomatic mission said in a statement in its Telegram channel.

It specified that European households and enterprises in the Baltic States will be the first to bear the costs. In addition, the statement indicated that in the case of the EU's continued desire to break energy ties with Russia, the economic prospects of the EU will deteriorate.

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Why Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnecting from the Russian energy system and becoming fully dependent on the EU

Earlier in the day, it became known that the Kaliningrad region has switched to an autonomous mode of operation due to the withdrawal of the Baltic States from the single energy ring with Russian Federation and Belarus.

Later the same day, the system operator of the Unified Energy System (SO UES) reported that the withdrawal of the Baltic States from the BRELL did not affect the parallel operation of the energy systems of Russia and Belarus and the functioning of the energy system in the Kaliningrad region.

The BRELL electric ring is an interconnection of the energy systems of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In November 2024, the operators of the power systems of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia officially notified Russia and Belarus of their withdrawal from the common BRELL power system by February 8, 2025.

The connection of the Baltic countries' power systems with the continental European Synchronous Area is scheduled for February 9, 2025.