Power links and sanctions: two stories from early January 2025

What did the days leading up to 10 January 2025 show about pressure on governance in Europe? Two reports stand out, one from Lithuania and one from Hungary.

On 8 January 2025, Lithuanian prime minister Gintautas Paluckas deployed the police to secure the country's electricity link with Poland. The step responded to reported attempts to disrupt the planned decoupling of the Baltic states' power systems from the grid shared with Belarus and Russia. The move placed a piece of energy infrastructure under direct police protection.

On 7 January 2025, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Hungarian cabinet minister Antal Rogán for alleged corruption. It accused him of using his position to secure financial benefits for himself and political allies.

The two episodes concern different problems: the security of a power connection in Lithuania, and an accusation of corruption against a minister in Hungary. Both involved governments and outside actors acting on matters of public trust and state function. Each was reported within a day of the other, in the first full week of the year.