Brussels, 09/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of Lithuania, Poland, Vilnius is hosting a very high level conference on energy security on 10-11 October. The objective of this “summit”, which around twenty heads of state and government and EU member state ministers will attend (as well as those from Central Asian and third countries), is to discuss questions related to EU external policy on energy, with particular attention on its eastern dimension, energy cooperation, diversification and supply.
The Lithuanian president, Valdas Adamou indicated in a welcome message that, “The conference will address the issues related to global energy security challenges as well as the future guidelines for the EUY external energy policy. We have the ambition to search for new ways of mutually beneficial cooperation among the main energy producers, consumers and transit countries. The transit energy dialogue, EU energy cooperation with Russia and Caspian and black Sea regions as well as the development of the Baltic energy strategy will be the core issues for discussion at the conference”. His main objective is to provide a platform to major actors in the energy field for an open debate on a broad range of global and regional energy issues. He concluded that, “Time is ripe for us to reach an agreement on a common vision of the future European and global energy policy. By uniting our efforts, we can find the best solutions and not miss an historic opportunity to address today the challenges of tomorrow”.
The Lithuanian ambassador to the EU, Rytis Martikonis explained in an interview to EUROPE on Monday 8 October that, “the special message which should come out of the Vilnius conference is: diversification”. He also affirmed, “We cannot rely on one energy source, on just one supplier. In this respect, the situation of the Baltic States is acute. The reality today is that we are very much dependent on the supplies coming form Russia. We have to diversify. And to diversity, we have to interconnect, we have to be part of the European market”. The importance of Central Asia in this respect is obvious if we want to look for alternatives (to Russian supplies: Ed)”. Martikonis also said that the Lithuanian government hopes to reach an agreement at the conference on the “electric bridge” between Lithuania and Poland, “That would be an important signal that we can do things, and not only talk about them”. He concluded that, “We are in the very final stage of the negotiations for establishing the joint company which would build the bridge. This project has been confirmed by the European Council in spring as a European project”.
As well as the Lithuanian president and his prime minister Gediminas Kirkilas, the conference will also bring together the Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his minister for her economy Piotr Wozniak, Latvian president, Valdis Zatlers, Estonian prime minister Andrus Ansip, Romanian president Traian Basescu. Producer and transit countries from eastern Europe and Central Asia will be represented by their presidents Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Mikhaïl Saakachvili (Georgia) and Viktor Iouchtchenko (Ukraine); Kazakhstan will be represented by its minister for energy Sauat Mynbayev. Commissioner Andris Piebalgs will represent the European Commission, whose president, José Manuel Barroso, will address conference attendees via a video message. It should be noted that many Heads of states and governments from the EU initially invited declined the invitation from president Adamkus. Governments from the EU will include the Belgian minister for the economy, Marc Verwilghen, the Spanish minister for industry Joan Clos, the French minister for ecology and sustainable development Jean-Louis Borloo, the Swedish minister for European affairs, Cecilia Malmström, the Dutch minister for European affairs Frans Timmermans, the British minister for energy Malcolm Wicks, Czech vice-minister for European affairs Alexander Vondra and the Slovak minister (without portfolio) Ziga Turk. From countries outside the EU, Russia will be represented by its ambassador in Lithuania, Boris Tsepov, Norway by its secretary of state from the energy department Monica Bargem Stubholt, Turkey by its minister for energy Mehmet Hilmi Güler, Turkmenistan by its director from the state agency for the management of hydrocarbon resources, Bayrammyrat Myradov and the US by the vice-secretary of state for energy Clay Sell.
The summit will be preceded by an energy forum bringing together a number of experts and representatives from the Commission, Member States and third countries, energy companies - Eesti Energia (Estonia), PKN Orlen and PGNiG (Poland), Rompetrol (Romania), Iberdrola (Spain) and Areva (France) and from academia in which professor Wladyslaw Mielczarski, recently appointed coordinator of the energy priority projects and the electricity interconnection between Germany, Poland and Lithuania. (eh)