Brussels, 14/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - Although their joint project for a nuclear power plant in Visaginas is progressing well, the Baltic states have still not reached an agreement on the construction of a regional gas terminal.
During a visit to Vilnius on 13 and 14 September, Günther Oettinger urged Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to “engage in closer cooperation in the energy sector”, above all regretting that the three states have still not managed to agree on the construction of a regional gas terminal. “The eastern Baltic energy markets are relatively small. Consequently, infrastructure development, for example new gas supply routes, only make sense if they serve the whole region”, the energy commissioner stressed during a conference, saying: “Open and honest cooperation along with avoiding unilateral actions - with a national focus - is, in my view, the only way to achieve our common objectives throughout the whole Baltic region, and the common response needs to be swift”. He added: “More than ever there is a need for cooperation and compromise”.
Given the failure of Baltic states to agree on the location of a regional liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, the Commission is called upon to seek the best location. The Latvian government, which hopes to build the terminal in Riga, criticised the Lithuanian decision to build its own terminal in Klapeida, without waiting for the Commission's conclusions, the Lithuanian Baltic News Service reports. Lithuania, which is 100% dependent upon Russian gas, also hopes to build a gas link to Poland.
“Given the high level of ambition, the tight deadlines and the challenging economic environment, it becomes evident that these objectives can only be achieved by close regional cooperation”, Oettinger emphasises, pointing out that €200 billion worth of investment will have to be mobilised in the trans-European energy networks over coming years.
Commissioner Oettinger also reaffirmed his support for the Baltic project for a joint nuclear plant in Visaginas, Lithuania, which is a “key part of the Commission's plan for full integration of the Baltic states into the internal EU energy market”. The construction of the future 1300 MW plant will begin in 2015, to be up and running in 2022 under the management of the Japanese group Hitachi. The Lithuanian state will hold a 38% stake in the project. Estonia and Latvia will be involved in the project with 22% and 20% stakes. The project remains open to Poland, which gave up the idea of joining forces with the others end 2011 in order to build its own plant by 2020.
Also attending the conference was Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas who highlighted the major role played by the underground gas storage centre in Incukalns, in neighbouring Latvia. During discussion with Oettinger, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, for her part, welcomed the fact that the Commission had launched an inquiry into the Russian gas company, Gazprom, for abuse of dominant position and price manipulation in several countries of central and eastern Europe, which are dependent on Russian gas supplies. Grybauskaite also spoke of how important EU support for Lithuania is in its efforts to achieve “unbundling” which is the separation of companies' generation and sale operations from their transmission networks, in line with the 3rd legislative package for the liberalisation of energy markets. (EH/transl.jl)