Baltic states plead for energy security in Copenhagen

  • 2006-11-01
  • Staff and wire reports
RIGA - A recent meeting between EU leaders and Russia in Helsinki demonstrated just how feeble the union can be when face-to-face with Russia on energy issues. During an Oct. 21 luncheon, the EU failed to defend Baltic energy interests when discussing the issue with Russia, much to the disappointment of Baltic leaders.

Yet the three states, who hope to merge their energy system with the Nordic states and the EU, still have hope for the upcoming Nordic and Baltic (NB8) conference, scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
During the Copenhagen meeting, representatives of the participating countries will discuss issues of European Union expansion, Finland's EU presidency, foreign policy matters, and relations with Eastern neighbors. Talks on energy security, however, come first and foremost for the Baltic states.

"At the Baltic Assembly presidium meeting and at the plenary session of the Nordic Council, we want to return to energy issues, so that the Nordic countries do not turn their back on this problem," Baltic Assembly president and head of the Lithuanian delegation, Valerijus Simulikas, told the Baltic News Service on Oct. 27.
Simulikas stated that Lithuania would like to give more attention to European energy strategy issues and how little the subject has been addressed by the Nordic council.

"We want to propose that the Nordic countries continue the discussion started by committees long ago. We want to bring up the energy problems of the Baltic Sea region, i.e. a common market, sales and purchase. We will also propose a discussion on energy security and the future of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant," Simulikas said.

The assembly president added that, in his opinion, his colleagues from Northern Europe were "quite passive" in their consideration of energy problems, even if these are "very serious and topical issues." During the Oct. 31 meeting, the prime ministers of Lithuania and Denmark discussed energy security issues, and noted the need for the European Union to speak "with one voice."

Speaking at a news conference after the Copenhagen meeting, Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis said that the three Baltic countries aimed to merge their energy system with the Nordic states and the EU.
"We would feel more comfortable and more independent and more secure in the future. The Nordic countries could help us very much," Kalvitis said.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas restated Baltic efforts to break free from energy isolation and listed relevant projects underway in the region, such as the construction of a new nuclear reactor and the Lithuanian-Polish agreement on a unified energy grid.
Speaking about energy, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip noted that the Baltic states were "like isolated islands in the EU as it pertains to energy." The German-Russian gas pipeline project was also discussed at the Copenhagen meeting. Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said that the Baltic states hoped that Russia and Germany would consult with them in the future about the construction of a gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Poland and the Baltic states, which are highly dependent on energy sources from the East, have criticized the Russian-German pipeline project for disregarding the region's energy needs and enabling Russia to blackmail Eastern Europe by avoiding their territories. The Balts and Poland fear that Russia might use the gas pipeline as a tool in potential future energy blockades and price manipulations.

"The project has already started and now has to be discussed with a much broader consensus than before. But the project is going on anyway and we hope that Russia and Germany will discuss the sensitive issues with us," Kirkilas said. Constructed by Russia's Gazprom and German companies E.ON and BASF, the 1,200-kilometer gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea will connect St. Petersburg and the German city of Greifswald.

However, Latvian Economy Minister Aigars Stokenbergs in an interview published in the Latvian daily Neatkariga Rita Avize said that the bypassing of the Baltic states was a decision based on economics not politics.
"Why does the gas pipeline bypass the Baltic states and Poland? It is simply a wise decision, because, if it crossed the territories of these countries, the costs of the project would increase ten-fold," the minister told the daily on Oct. 30.
He indicated that if the pipeline crossed Latvia's territory, for instance, it would be necessary to reach agreements with several thousand private landowners.

The Nordic council is expected to discuss energy issues on Nov. 2