Energy Security: solidarity starts in the regions

"The development of an interconnected and integrated energy union is essential for ensuring a fully functioning EU energy market; it is also essential to strengthen EU energy security and provide European business and citizens with stable, affordable and sustainable energy", said MEPs Jerzy Buzek, Algirdas Saudargas and Gabrielius Landsbergis during a roundtable discussion on regional energy infrastructure projects organised today by the EPP Group.

"Solidarity is the core value of the EU's energy policy. Today, we need solidarity more than ever to cope with pressing challenges, most recently, the planned expansion of the North Stream. This solidarity begins at regional level with the integration of our energy systems. This is why I am happy to see that the Lithuania-Poland energy link is near its completion", said Buzek, Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. "When I served as Poland's Prime Minister, we launched talks on this project with the government of Andrius Kubilius. Such initiatives are the flesh of the EU internal energy market. Regional energy links for power and gas are crucial not only for national and regional energy security but also for the overall success of the Energy Union", he insisted.

The aim of the roundtable was to present and discuss concrete energy infrastructure projects with representatives of the EU Member States, the European Commission, MEPs and the relevant stakeholders.

"The Baltic region is an excellent example of solidarity in the energy sector. By joint development of infrastructure, it turned its vulnerability in terms of energy security into an opportunity and contributed to the goals of the Energy Union. We need to continue integrating this region into the European energy system and bring an end to its isolation", said Saudargas, who co-hosted the roundtable.

"European regional energy infrastructure projects are the way to foster further integration and solidarity of Member States, which is especially needed in times of crises that threaten the unity of the EU. The Lithuanian-Polish gas and electricity interconnections are essential to bridge the Western and Eastern parts of the Union, to eliminate remaining energy islands, add to the free movement of energy across the EU and provide for the creation of a robust and resilient European Energy Union", concluded Landsbergis who chaired the roundtable.