19 August 2010, press release
At the NB8 Speakers meeting in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, Mrs Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas, proposed to start targeted and exhaustive discussions on the proposals to establish the European Energy Community and on new energy policy initiatives, which would allow to reduce the energy dependence of EU Member States and the Baltic States as well as deal with the problem of energy islands.
The Speaker of the Seimas proposed the NB8 parliamentary leaders to consider the possibility to create EU strategic reserves, set up a common Energy Fund, and establish Gas Purchasing Groups, which could ultimately lead to a Gas Purchasing Agency. According to Mrs Degutienė, strategic reserves could be used for prompt response to urgent problems, while a common Energy Fund for financing EU member networks and new technologies in renewable energies.
The Lithuanian Parliamentary Speaker underscored that Gas Purchasing Groups or a Gas Purchasing Agency would assist in preventing the third countries from abusing their monopolistic position and selling gas to different EU countries at discriminatory prices. The Gas Purchasing Groups should engage in negotiations on gas supply contracts with external suppliers, implementation of joint investment projects, and building of a gas storage infrastructure. Those measures would definitely enhance the EU crisis management capacity, ensure security of supply in a consistent manner, develop the mechanism of EU response to crisis situations, as well as limit the possibilities of some suppliers to abuse their monopolistic position and exercise a discriminatory gas price policy vis-à-vis individual EU states, Mrs Degutienė underlined.
The Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament also noted that the EU lacks a comprehensive common energy policy since so far energy security has been sought merely through the process of liberalisation of EU energy market. Separating network operations from energy supply and production has undoubtedly been a major step forward; however, the key problem so far is that the member states fail to implement the decisions; there is a lack of political will, Mrs Degutienė said.
The Speaker of the Seimas stressed that the EU energy policy has no external dimension. The Community is powerless to make an impact on EU energy imports; therefore, Europe is an easy target for divide-and-rule policies by the suppliers of energy resources. The Lisbon Treaty mentions the solidarity principle in energy in an abstract way and does not bind member states as to mutual support in crisis situations, Mrs Degutienė observed.
The Speaker of the Seimas expressed her belief that the Nordic-Baltic region can become the harbour of innovative ideas, pilot projects, and reasoned initiatives of deepening European integration. What I suggest is launching a broad discussion on a European Energy Community or its individual measures. We could urge our parliaments to instruct our governments to assess the package of common energy policy proposals. The consultations that would follow between and among our governments would show whether we can have a joint approach and what it really contains, Mrs Degutienė said noting that the new Energy Strategy will be one of the topical items of the EU 2010 autumn and 2011 winter agenda.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas
Juozas Ruzgys, Spokesperson to the Speaker of the Seimas
