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VILNIUS, May 22, BNS - The leaders of all Baltic Sea countries and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expect to sign in Brussels on Jun. 17 a memorandum on the Baltic Interconnection Plan, thus marking the completion of the process for the preparation of the document and the startof its implementation.

 "This will be a political document, but it is much more significant than a legal one. What is important is that the Baltic Sea countries have agreedon electricity links, sources of generation and the development of gas and oil projects," Lithuanian Deputy Energy Minister Romas Svedas, who is amember of a high-level EU task group, told BNS on Friday."Concrete projects, indicative investment amounts and the main companiesin charge of implementing the projects have already been named," he said. Svedas said that the leaders of all Baltic Sea countries and Barroso would sign the document on the eve of the European Council meeting."We have broken the ice -- there are no political obstacles. The nextstage will be to draw up an application to the European Commission, and assoon as this year, a ship should survey the route of the cable under the Baltic Sea. This is a big step forward," Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas told BNS after meeting with Latvian Economics Minister Artis Kampars on Friday.Sekmokas said that Lithuania and Latvia had resolved all disagreements over the undersea electricity link project. "It has been agreed in principle that financing will be provided both for reinforcing the power transmission network in Latvia and for building the cable -- all disagreements have been resolved. They are still to say how much own funds they will contribute to this project," he said. Svedas said that for Lithuania, the most important projects agreed by the high-level task group were electricity interconnections with Sweden and Poland, a power link between Estonia and Finland, a common electricity market in the three Baltic countries, integration into the Western European electricity system UCTE and the Nordic market, a gas pipeline from Lithuaniato Poland, the Amber Project for a gas pipeline that would link the territories of the Baltic countries and Poland, an underground gas storagefacility, a possible liquefied gas terminal project in the Baltic countries, and an Odessa-Brody-Plock-Gdansk oil pipeline. The European Union is expected to allocate 175 million euros for the planned power interconnection under the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Lithuania, including the reinforcement of the power transmission network in western Latvia. Another 100 million euros should be provided for a second interconnection between Estonia and Finland. The countries are to submit their joint application for the EU's funds by Jul. 15.