During the council meeting, ministers discussed the protection of the European Union’s (EU) critical energy infrastructure, energy security architecture, and the Action Plan for Affordable Energy to ensure that the EU remains resilient, adaptable, and prepared for potential physical and cyber threats. They also addressed the need to secure independence from fossil fuel prices while increasing independence from fossil energy sources.
“The security situation in the Baltic Sea Region remains tense, requiring measures to protect critical energy infrastructure from potential cyber and physical attacks. Although the synchronization of the Baltic States was successfully completed, the work does not end here. The Baltic Sea Region, where several serious incidents have occurred that caused damage to critical infrastructure and energy supply disruptions affecting electricity prices, could become a model for strengthening the security and resilience of critical infrastructure. Lithuania is also learning from Ukraine’s experiences in critical infrastructure protection and is providing full support to Ukraine,” said Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas.
During the council meeting, ministers also discussed the current situation and next steps on EU regulations related to gas supply security and electricity risk prevention. These regulations are key elements of the EU’s energy security system.
To ensure Europe’s energy security and sovereignty, the EU must fully end the remaining energy imports from Russia. Lithuania completely stopped importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia in 2022, and this year, with the successful synchronization of its electricity grid with continental Europe, Lithuania has secured energy independence from Russia.
During the council meeting, Lithuania urged the EC to present an action plan as soon as possible with specific measures to help member states eliminate LNG imports from Russia. “In the current geopolitical context, we must move immediately from planning to concrete actions,” said the minister.
During the Energy Council meeting, Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas met with European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen and European Commission (EC) Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy Henna Virkkunen. The discussions focused on energy security issues in the Baltic States and Poland and the next steps in strengthening regional resilience. The minister also thanked the EC for its initiatives to strengthen energy security and Poland for raising this issue on the EU political agenda.
The minister emphasized that the key element in preparing for potential energy crises is critical infrastructure protection – both from physical and cyber threats. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen infrastructure protection and resilience by creating new solutions, requiring not only national but also EU-level funding, with particular attention to regions with increased threats. “The Baltic States and Poland are ready to become a model for EU infrastructure protection and resilience, which, in collaboration with the EU and NATO, could be applied in other regions,” said the minister.
During his visit to Brussels, the Minister of Energy also met with other important EC officials to present Lithuania’s position on energy policy issues important to Lithuania and the EU. Additionally, Lithuania joined the group of countries supporting renewable energy for the first time at the meeting of the Friends of Renewables. Lithuania’s membership was warmly welcomed. During this meeting, the role of renewable energy resources in strengthening energy security and reducing energy prices was discussed. “We must continue to accelerate the development of renewable energy resources, with a special focus on simplifying permitting processes for energy production, network infrastructure, and energy storage devices and their connection to transmission networks,” said Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas.
During the Energy Council, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia presented the successful synchronization of the Baltic States’ electricity grids with continental European networks and emphasized the necessary future steps to ensure the security of energy infrastructure, particularly within the scope of the synchronization project.
The next informal EU Energy Ministers’ meeting is scheduled for May 12-13, 2025, in Warsaw, Poland.
