Polish energy giant Orlen is moving to unite companies from across the Baltic Sea region into a new lobbying platform, aiming to give the area a stronger voice in Brussels. The initiative, dubbed the Baltic Energy Initiative, is set to hold its inaugural meeting on 2 September 2026, with representatives from key energy firms in the region invited.
The plan is to create a business-led organisation, modelled on existing European industry associations that operate in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. The North Sea Wind Power Hub and the Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie already serve as platforms for regional energy interests in EU policymaking, and Orlen believes the Baltic is long overdue for a similar structure.
According to Orlen, the Baltic has often lost out in competition for EU funds to other regions, such as the Iberian Peninsula. The new coalition is intended to help secure financing not only for offshore wind, but also for small modular reactors (SMRs), hydrogen projects and carbon capture technologies – provided the region first agrees on common priorities.
A platform for business, not government
Orlen stresses that the initiative is meant to be independent from the company itself. Julia Ćwiek, project manager in Orlen’s Strategic Transformation Department, told WNP that the firm is only taking the first step. “We invited representatives of key companies from the region to the inauguration on 2 September. We are organising this meeting and setting the pace, but this is not a project created solely with one company in mind,” she said. “In the long run, we plan to make the format independent of our structures and hand it over to the market, so that the initiative becomes fully autonomous and truly regional.”
The areas of potential cooperation identified so far include offshore wind, nuclear energy, hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and the security of critical underwater infrastructure. The latter is particularly urgent given the geopolitical situation. “What united the North Sea countries was the oil and gas sector. In the Baltic, we are united by the threat from the East,” said Sławomir Radoń, Orlen’s Executive Director for Strategy and Innovation. “No single country or company can bear the burden of protecting critical infrastructure alone.”
A united front for EU funds and influence
Orlen had previously sounded out the European Commission about the idea. Brussels was receptive, but made clear that it prefers to hear proposals from entire regions and organisations rather than from individual companies. “That was the final impulse to start work on consolidating Baltic business,” Ćwiek noted.
The coalition is also expected to push a narrative centred on energy security, economic attractiveness and lower consumer prices. “As long as transformation projects are not commercially attractive, they will be halted the moment regulations change,” Radoń warned. The ultimate goal is to establish a permanent secretariat and partner with a think tank to provide analytical support.
The Baltic Energy Initiative follows earlier attempts at regional cooperation, such as the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP), which was driven by governments. Orlen believes a purely business-led forum can be more agile and effective in advocating for the region’s interests in Brussels.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe / Baltic Power
