Energy, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Latvia

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The Minister expressed the conviction that a regional level energy policy should reflect the priorities of the Energy Union Strategy, namely, safe, secure, sustainable, competitive and affordable energy for households and companies.

The Minister emphasised that regional cooperation is a vital element of the Energy Union and a significant step toward a full integration of energy markets in the European Union. Until now, the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region has focused on energy infrastructure and market development. Edgars Rinkevics noted that, in view of geopolitical developments, energy security emerges as a major priority. We are happy, the Foreign Minister said, that the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan has been recognised as an example of best practices, and added that in the future the scope of cooperation areas is to be expanded to include aspects of the Energy Union such as security of supply, energy efficiency, renewable energy and nuclear energy. Active engagement by the European Commission is of key importance in this respect, said the Foreign Minister.

The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Martin Lidegaard, commended Latvia for setting energy security as one of the priorities of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.