On Wednesday 31 October, the European Commission approved a Lithuanian measure in favour of the company LITGAS for the provision of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Klaipėda LNG terminal.
The Commission previously authorised aid from Vilnius to build and operate an LNG terminal in the port of Klaipėda in 2013, allowing Lithuania to diversify and secure its gas supplies.
In June 2018, the Lithuanian authorities notified the institution of several changes to the initial measure. First of all, LITGAS, a supplier of liquefied gas with a public service mission, will be obliged to provide the terminal with a certain quantity of LNG to keep it operational, in exchange for which the company will receive compensation to cover the costs generated by supplying this gas.
Vilnius has also expressed an intention of ending the obligation on producers of heat and electricity to buy gas from LITGAS from January 2019, as this is no longer justified.
Under the EU rules on State aid for the provision of services of general economic interest, the Commission approved both the current regime for the period 2016-2018 and its successor for 2019-2024. It considered that the modified regime would strengthen competition on the Lithuanian gas market and that the Klaipėda terminal would help to reduce the EU's dependency on imports of energy whilst creating an interconnected energy market. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)