Baltic government heads meet in Vilnius

Nov 06, 2009
Oskars Magone

VILNIUS - The three Baltic Prime Ministers have concluded a meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, where talks over energy issues dominated the wide-range of topics discussed.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius largely used the opportunity to strengthen ties and reaffirm multilateral cooperation on a number of hot-button issues.

One of the key topics on the table was the construction of a new nuclear power plant at Visaginas.

The new power plant, which is planned to replace the one at Ignalina that will shut down at the end of the year, has been a controversial issue. The three countries have argued over how large a share each player would receive in the project and which other countries shouls take part - the squabbling has already imposed numerous delays on the project.

Here the heads of Baltic governments reaffirmed their committment to the project.

"We have the intention to participate and we know there is a lot being done in our energy companies," Dombrovskis said.

They also commented on the work that has gone into creating the Open Baltic Energy Market that has made the construction of the plant politically viable.

The leaders also expressed concerns over the NordStream gas pipeline that is planned to run under the Baltic Sea.

During the meeting, Kubilius threw his support behind an objection lodged by Estonia earlier this week over the possible environmental impact of the pipeline.

"Our government has been sceptical, critical about this. Unfortunately we don't have any legal rights to veto the project," he said.

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