Baltic States – CIS, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Gas, Latvia, Legislation, Russia

''Even though there were many warnings in the past that Russia cannot be seen as a trustworthy partner neither in international politics, nor in business, many chose to ignore this. However, today, even Russia's biggest friends in the past have been forced to admit that Russia is unreliable. The second biggest concern after military threats is Europe's energy dependence on Russia. Finally the European Union is starting to do something to lessen this dependence, but this will neither be quick or easy. That is why the sooner we start, the sooner we will reach our goals,'' Lejins told LETA through his spokesman Janis Sterns.

Lejins pointed out that the EU needs to take these steps together with member states to reach these goals. ''The decision was recently made on the creation of the EU Energy Union, which is an important basis for the bloc's common energy policy. The most important is that this cooperation will allow us to speak in one voice with energy suppliers on the price of energy resources and secure supplies with such companies as Russia's Gazprom,'' he said.

''I would also like to point out that the position of Gazprom in Europe has not only been weakened by Europe's efforts to find alternative gas suppliers, but also the political activities of the company itself. In many cases, the actions of Gazprom have been politically motivated, while at the same time economically unfavorable. Thus, Gazprom itself is putting up hurdles against itself, leading to more financial problems,'' he said.

Recently, there has been louder talk that the European Commission is preparing a complaint against Gazprom for maliciously using its monopoly situation. Lejins said that this will lead to more headaches in the long-term for the Russian monopoly, but will ensure cheaper prices and more favorable supply agreements for European consumers. ''Meanwhile, Russia's attempts to turn against countries who have opened their markets to alternative suppliers are losing steam. Russia recently withdrew its complaint against Lithuania after this country carried out its gas liberalization process,'' Lejins said.

''Latvia will always be dependent on gas imports. Thus it is important to have various suppliers, so to lessen risks. However, it is more important to reduce the consumption of energy where possible. Energy efficiency measures, especially in the renovation of buildings, must be one of the foundation's of our energy policy,'' the politician believes.