Pavluts’ energay proposals rejected

  • 2011-11-30
  • From wire reports

RIGA - At a meeting of the European Union’s transport, telecommunication and energy ministers in Brussels on Nov. 24, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were unable to reach agreement on the construction of a regional liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Latvia, which is why the European Commission will now do independent research to determine the economically best location for implementation of the project, reports Nozare.lv.

Latvian Economy Minister Daniels Pavluts offered the Estonian Minister of Economy and Communication Juhan Parts and Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas to sign two declarations on cooperation in implementation of the key energy projects in the region - one on construction of the LNG terminal in Latvia and the other on continued cooperation on the Visaginas nuclear plant project. However, neither Lithuania nor Estonia accepted Latvia’s proposal.
The Baltic prime ministers previously decided at a meeting that while the European Commission is doing the research, the Baltic countries’ talks on LNG terminal construction would continue on the level of ministers, ministries and prime ministers.

It was in the interest of the entire region to reach agreement on implementation of the LNG terminal project in Latvia as soon as possible, to put an end to the isolation of the Baltic energy market by 2015 through diversification of supply networks and suppliers. This would increase the Baltic countries’ energy security and create a joint Baltic gas market. The European Commission also supported such an approach, and said that it would provide co-funding for the project if the LNG terminal would be built in Latvia, says Pavluts.