OREANDA-NEWS. On 29 April 2009 was announced, that yesterday the Prime Ministers of the three Baltic States met in Vilnius in order to participate in a broader discussion on the formation of the common Baltic energy market. In the end, Valdis Dombrovskis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, Andrus Ansip, Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia, and Andrius Kubilius, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, signed a Joint Declaration on the Principles for the Formation of the Common Baltic Energy Market and Actions for the Implementation of the Main Energy Projects.

The Declaration envisages creation of an open and transparent Baltic electricity market and its integration into the Nordic electricity market in line with the relevant EU legislation. The Baltic States have expressed their commitment to abandon energy tariffs for 35% of consumers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by including also the large energy consumers. „Latvia has already opened its energy market, and by the end of this year the same is planned in Estonia and Lithuania. This is a „turning point” for more rapid development of the Nordic-Baltic energy market.” The Latvian Prime Minister urged the Baltic partners to engage more actively in eliminating market barriers and to jointly work on the formation of an open Nordic-Baltic energy market.

The Declaration also urges the energy companies of Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden to promptly launch the Baltic-Swedish interconnection project which implies strategic importance for energy security of the Baltic States. This will be a trilateral energy infrastructure project in which energy companies of Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden will participate on equal conditions. Mr.Dombrovskis expressed the following position: „The common energy market in the Baltic region and setting up of the interconnections with the Scandinavian market will enhance energy security and diversity of the energy sources”.

During a round-table discussion Dombrovskis acknowledged the fact that the Baltic States have joined their forces to strengthen energy security and to agree on concrete steps and deadlines for the harmonisation of the Baltic electricity market. The Head of the Latvian Government also expressed his gratitude to the European Commission for its contribution in strengthening energy-related contacts and cooperation in the Baltic region. „By creating the common energy market the Baltic States will implement the EU standards and promote investments for new interconnections,” said Dombrovskis.

The Latvian Prime Minister urged the Baltic partners to ensure more dynamic progress of joint energy projects, including the Visaginas nuclear power plant project, on which an agreement was reached already in 2006 in Trakai, as well as to start construction of the interconnection between Lithuania and Poland. The Baltic Prime Ministers agreed on the necessity to organise a separate meeting devoted to the Visaginas project by inviting the Head of the Polish Government.