In his address to the leaders of the Baltic Sea region, President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that Europe was on the verge of an energy transformation, with the Russian war in Ukraine severely affecting the energy market. According to the President, the current energy crisis in Europe should be seen as an opportunity to shift away from Russian energy resources altogether, to accelerate the transition to more secure and sustainable energy, to expand the use of renewable energy sources and to use less fossil fuels.
Gitanas Nausėda underlined that Europe is still paying the price for its energy dependence on Russia.
“For years, Russia has used energy as a tool of manipulation and blackmail, and now as a weapon in its war in Ukraine. The price of gas has increased 10-fold and electricity prices have reached all-time highs. The heaviest burden falls on the shoulders of ordinary citizens and businesses. We must take decisive action to prevent this,” the President added.
Gitanas Nausėda pointed out that Lithuania’s strategic decisions on energy enabled the country to cut off the imports of Russian energy resources this April. However, according to the Lithuanian President, in order to achieve full energy independence and ensure energy security, it is necessary to complete the project of synchronization of the Baltic electricity grids with continental Europe in the shortest possible time. The President called for accelerating the project and completing it ahead of schedule. Increasing domestic electricity production from renewable energy sources as soon as possible is also essential.
The Baltic Sea Energy Security Summit adopted a declaration calling for immediate action to increase the EU’s energy resilience and independence from Russia, and agreed to cooperate on increasing fuel imports via sea routes, to reduce energy dependence on Russia by phasing out the use of fossil fuels, to increase the number of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea sevenfold by 2030, and to carry out joint projects on renewable energy.
