OREANDA-NEWS. On August 31, 2008 Ivars Godmanis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, paid a working visit to Slovenia and delivered a speech at the Bled International Forum on energy and climate change issues. In his address the Prime Minister named the common energy policy (CEP) as one of the most important challenges of the European Union (EU), reported the Official website www.mk.gov.lv.

Ivars Godmanis emphasised that the climate change and energy-related issues are among the key subject matters of political debate at the EU and global level. „In view of the assumptions that in the future energy dependence of the EU could even grow, it is necessary to develop a new policy to react to the new reality.

Market developments show that coal prices could reach gas prices in the future. Thus, Europe in its current discussion on the energy issues faces a major challenge – to work on the new Common Energy Policy,” said Ivars Godmanis. The main elements of the CEP are ensuring of interconnections, granting of special EU financial support in order to address the energy issues, nuclear energy as an alternative source of energy in the context of the common energy policy and the necessity of connections among the existing networks.

Ivars Godmanis also stressed that when implementing the quotas for CO2 emissions and renewable energy resources which were agreed in the European Council in March 2007, it is important throughout the whole period to monitor the progress of every Member States in taking the respective measures. If serious problems are established during the monitoring activities, the causes should be assessed in due time and the necessary decisions should be adopted.

Regarding the possible interruption of energy supplies from Russia, Ivars Godmanis noted that energy i san essential element of any economy, therefore the forces of demand and supply are still most likely to play the dominant role in the future.

Ivars Godmanis underlined the global aspect of the energy issues – the development and implementation of the CEP would not be efficient without involvement of other strategic partners, such as India, China, Russia and the United States.