Adamkus gets gassy

President underlined the importance of new energy interconnections with isolated EU energy markets

BRUSSELS - President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus attended the closing session of the European Council meeting March 14 after a day spent lobbying for an extension of the operating life of the Ignalina nuclear power plant.

Heads of the European states agreed on the guidelines for the new stage of implementation of the Lisbon strategy and on further actions in the fields of energy and climate change.

"European Council conclusions reflected an approach particularly important to Lithuania in the effort to strengthen energy security and external energy policy of the EU and individual Member States," said Adamkus after the meeting.

This November, the European Commission shall submit an assessment of a strategic document concerning the security of supply, the necessary interconnections and further actions towards the development of an external energy policy. The European Council intends to adopt the relevant decisions by the next spring.

On the onset of a new stage of implementation of the Lisbon strategy, Heads of the European states recognised the need to make more effort to guarantee a reliable supply of strategic energy resources.

"They agreed on the importance of an efficient and integrated EU internal energy market as a prerequisite for a reliable energy supply. They also acknowledged the need to accelerate the construction of the required energy bridges," said a summary from the presidential press office.

"President Adamkus reiterated the problems faced by isolated energy markets and called on the European Commission to consider new projects in this field, especially in the gas sector," the statement concludes, indicating that Adamkus is hedging his bets on future energy supply.