Butkevicius welcomed the European Commission's fast and smooth establishment of EFSIS. The PM said that the EFSIS should encourage investment and have a positive impact on economic growth and job creation in the European Union.
The European Commission vice president has commended Lithuanian Government's economic policies, and efforts to maintain fiscal discipline. Mr. Katainen has noted that one of the main policy objectives of the European Union is to become more attractive for global investments. "Lithuania has a great experience and numerous prospects as regards the development of European and regional sustainable energy projects", he said.
The PM has noted Lithuania's interest in the implementation of projects, while taking all the advantages offered by the EFSIS: "Our country has identified 16 potential projects to be eligible for funding, including environmental and energy efficiency projects for apartments and public buildings, renovation, street lighting, gas interconnections with Poland (GIPL), co-generation power plant, and LNG terminal project". According to the PM, the recently launched Smart Specialization Programme will provide a significant boost to research and development.
Butkevicius has drawn attention to that fact that the EFSIS should focus more on the projects of strategic national and EU importance, which are less attractive to businesses due to their longer payback time, including energy and transport sectors.
On energy security, the PM has pointed out the specific situation of the three Baltic States due to their dependency on a single power system operator. "We seek the support from the European Commission and European Union member countries as regards the synchronization of the Baltic grids with the continental European networks. It's a common EU energy security issue," he said.
