Posts Tagged ‘Germany’
Open arms Nato’s Baltic members agree to open their borders in the event of an emergency
The eight Nato countries bordering the Baltic Sea, together with Iceland and Norway, have pledged to open their borders to each other’s citizens should they be forced to flee in the event of a disaster. The agreement is an extension of a patchwork of arrangements among some of the countries in the region and will…
Read MoreContractor tests special vessel for immersion of tunnel elements
At present, the contractor consortium Femern Link Contractors (FLC) is testing the special vessel that will immerse the tunnel elements for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. Over the weekend, the unique immersion pontoon IVY 1 & 2 carried out the first test of connecting the vessel to a completed tunnel element.
The immersion pontoons are currently located in the large Danish work harbour on Lolland, with the first tunnel element secured between the two units. The initial phase of testing has already been successfully completed and includes, among other things, confirming that all functions operate correctly – both when IVY 1 & 2 are operated separately holding a standard element secured in between, and when they are operated as a combined vessel.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
Read MoreCollaboration towards accelerating European hydrogen economy progresses – Finland and Germany sign Joint Declaration of Intent on enhancing hydrogen economy collaboration
Hydrogen Cluster Finland welcomes further progress in bilateral relations between Finland and Germany, and the signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent on hydrogen economy collaboration between the two countries, signed by Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche and Minister of Climate and Environment Sari Multala on Wednesday.
The Joint Declaration presents Finland and Germany’s shared vision for cooperation on hydrogen infrastructure, hydrogen technology development, and investments in the sector. The Declaration is a strong signal of the need for cross border collaboration to secure investments in the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen economy value chains are never local – they are always international and therefore benefits of investments are shared across companies, countries and geographies.
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Originally published on 19 Feb
Read MoreKeeping up with the Nordics Baltics staying the course against corruption
When it comes to corruption rankings, there are the Nordics and then there is everyone else. Again this year, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden ended in a log jam at the top of the Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual ranking of perceived corruption in the public sector. Germany rounded out the top 10. The Baltic states (Estonia: 12; Lithuania: 28th; Latvia: 37) are showing that despite some setbacks (including the resignation of Lithuania’s prime minister last year amid a corruption scandal), that they, too, take corruption seriously.
Transparency International, which has produced the report each year since 1995, cautions against easing up against corruption, even in the Nordic countries, but, in the Baltic region, the trends at least are with them: countries with the best records are generally democratic and highly digitalised.
That will show the path for Poland (52). To be sure, it has shown improvement since PiS, an illiberal regime that dismembered the country’s civil-society infrastructure, was voted out of office in 2023, and it finds itself solidly in the top third of the table. Progress, though, has been modest, due to what has been deemed insufficient efforts to undo the damage done by PiS. Russia (157) finished level with Chad, Honduras and Zimbabwe. An outlier in a sea of outliers.
Read More”Offshore Power Plant” Baltic Sea significantly increases power generation
The offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea fed around 5,400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity into the eastern German extra-high-voltage grid via the 50Hertz grid connection systems last year – about ten percent more than in the previous year. Over the course of 2025, the six currently operating offshore wind farms generated enough electricity to cover the annual consumption of the city of Leipzig and its surrounding region.
The reason for this increase is the continuous expansion of wind energy off the coast of the island of Rügen. Since last year, the Baltic Eagle wind farm (approx. 450 MW) has been feeding its full capacity into the grid via the Ostwind 2 connection system. Prior to that, the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm (approx. 250 MW) went online. Wind yield amounted to 4,300 GWh in 2023 and 4,900 GWh in 2024.
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Originally published on 9 Feb
Read MoreGerman energy group Danpower invests in Estonia, citing good business climate
German energy company Danpower Group is acquiring a majority stake in SW Energia OÜ, one of Estonia’s leading district heating providers, says the official press-release. Danpower Group is a Potsdam-based energy company specializing in district heating and renewable energy solutions for municipalities, industries, and residential areas across Germany and now Estonia.
The deal, signed on January 27, awaits approval from the Estonian Competition Authority and aims to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in Estonia’s heating sector.
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Originally published on 5 Feb
Read MorePhilipp Andree takes over as political-affairs manager at EEW
EEW Energy from Waste GmbH has appointed Philipp Andree as its new team leader for political affairs. In his new role, he will be responsible for representing the political interests of the EEW Group.
Together with his team, Philipp will strengthen EEW’s strategic positioning in key energy, climate and circular economy debates at national and European level.
Philipp brings with him years of experience at the interface between politics and business. Before joining EEW, he worked for several years in association work, including at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and as managing director of the German Association of Climate Protection Companies (Bundesverband Klimaschutz-Unternehmen e. V.) where he was responsible for projects and political initiatives in the areas of energy, climate and circular economy and supported companies on their way to a sustainable and competitive future.
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Read MoreEstonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany renew a four-party agreement in Tallinn to strengthen strategic communication and media literacy
Today, 29 January, the Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jonatan Vseviov, the State Secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office, Bernhard Kotsch and the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Vidmantas Verbickas, signed a four-party cooperation memorandum in Tallinn aimed at strengthening ties between the countries in the fields of strategic communication and media literacy. The agreement was signed ahead of the meeting also by the Latvian State Secretary Andžejs Vilumsons, with Latvia represented at the meeting by the Inspector General of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ilgvars Kļava. The agreement is an updated version of the cooperation memorandum first concluded between the foreign ministries of the four countries in 2015.
Secretary General Vseviov emphasised that in the context of growing foreign influence activities, disinformation and hostile propaganda, it is crucial to strengthen societal resilience. He noted that closer cooperation between like-minded countries is key to protecting and developing the democratic information space.
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Originally published on 29 Jan
Read MoreA new special vessel at the Fehmarnbelt project
A new special vessel has arrived in the work harbour in Rødbyhavn. It is the large floating crane “Hebo Lift 9”. The floating crane will place the enormous anchors on the seabed, to which the immersion pontoon IVY will be attached with long steel wires in connection with the immersion of the first tunnel element this spring.
A total of eight anchors weighing 500 tonnes each will be used. The anchors are shaped like large boxes and are lowered onto the seabed. After the immersion of an element, the anchors can then be picked up again by the crane and reused in connection with the immersion of the next element.
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Originally published on 30 Jan
Read MoreFinal Agreement on the Bornholm Energy Island
At the North Sea Summit on January 26, Denmark and Germany took the final steps toward realizing the Bornholm Energy Island. At Baltic Energy Island, we are grateful and more than ready to move forward.
Denmark and Germany have agreed to share the costs of the support needed for offshore wind. The cost distribution reflects a fair balance between the benefits of the project and the expected allocation of green power.
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Originally published on 27 Jan
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