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On 20 September Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas delivered a lecture on energy security at the Centre for European Studies of Columbia University.

Minister Vaitiekūnas marked that in the modern world even small states participate in global energy development.

“Commitment to the principles of cooperation, transparency and broader institutional regulation is typically the strong point of the small states. Lithuania is no exception,” the Minister said.

The Head of Lithuanian Diplomacy stressed that energy is an inseparable part of European and transatlantic politics. The continued growth of developing markets has substantially increased global demand for energy resources.  We all need more oil and gas for new production capacities.

“Last year the new tunes in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute sent a serious signal. The European Union highly depends on imported energy resources,” Minister Vaitiekūnas stated.

He noted that that the EU-Russia cooperation will have a huge strategic impact on European and global development. Lithuania, a member of the EU and a neighbor of Russia, can play a role in developing this cooperation.

“Lithuania’s interests in the EU are twofold. First, we need a more integrated energy policy of the EU. Second, we have to create more effective instruments, including Common Foreign and Security Policy, to promote our energy interests more efficiently. I believe that the U.S. can contribute in both cases,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister said.

According to the Minister, building a common energy policy already is one of the major topics on the EU agenda.

“The greatest challenge is to restructure our energy markets so that we no longer depend on fossil fuel monopolies. We need a breakthrough in energy generation, transmission and accumulation methods. And Europe is taking only its first steps in this direction,” the Head of Lithuanian Diplomacy said.

According to the Minister this aim could be reached only if the European Research and Development policies are fundamentally reformed. Europe has to restructure its energy market so that European nations cooperate rather than compete with each other in pursuing their vital energy needs. Liberalization and integration of the energy markets is a promising step.  

“For Lithuania, integration has a much deeper sense than for many other EU members, because together with Latvia and Estonia, our country is isolated from the European networks. This situation severely curtails our possibilities of participating in the European energy market,” Mr Vaitiekūnas underlined.    

Foreign Minister noted that to connect the Baltic States to the rest of the EU power bridges between Estonia and Finland and Lithuanian and Poland should be built.

Talking about cooperation with Lithuania’s neighbor Russia the Minister emphasized that the EU should point to the Russian society that Europe and democracy is not a threat.

“Europe wants to embrace the Russian people and is open to further cooperation. Our will has been demonstrated on many occasions, including the transit to Kaliningrad. We should continue this policy by facilitating people-to-people contacts, business cooperation and academic exchange,” Foreign Minister said.

Minister  Vaitiekūnas  expressed hope that  transatlantic cooperation will continue to be successful and produce concrete results.

“Europe can make its voice better heard if it raises difficult questions in cooperation with America,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister said.