“The recent events that have been in the spotlight around the world are proof that the Belarusian regime is completely unpredictable and dangerous. The Astravets NPP has already received permits for commercial electricity generation, even though the stress test requirements have not been implemented yet. This poses a danger to the people of Lithuania and all other European Union countries, especially considering the fact that Belarus is trying to hide its problems and is not explaining the reasons for the stoppages and failures that have already occurred at the NPP,” said Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys at the meeting of EU energy ministers.
Lithuanian law prohibits the purchase of electricity from countries that have unsafe nuclear power plants, and these provisions will be implemented. Kreivys called on the EU to unanimously demand the postponement of commercial activities at the Astravets NPP until all safety issues have been resolved.
The direct or indirect trading of unsafe electricity on the EU market will, among other things, hamper the achievement of climate change mitigation objectives, such as the development of clean energy capacity and ensuring the stable and efficient functioning of the electricity market.
Lithuania has developed a new tripartite methodology for electricity trade and is currently in active negotiations with Latvia and Estonia for the approval of this methodology.
During the meeting, the EU energy ministers discussed the creation of conditions for an EU-wide hydrogen market. Minister Kreivys pointed out that it is first necessary to ensure cross-border coordination of gas quality and establish quality principles.
“To encourage industry to switch to clean hydrogen, we need to make green hydrogen production technologies cheaper. Therefore, we must finance the development of innovative production methods,” said Minister Kreivys.
During the meeting, the energy ministers also discussed about regulation on Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) and approved Council conclusions on the EU renovation wave strategy.
