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The meetings of Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas and the EU Commissioner for Environment Stavros Dimas and the Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs focused on the sharing of the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions among the EU member states after 2012.

The Prime Minister stressed that the commitments to reduce greenhouse gases have to be fairly shared taking into account Lithuania’s economic growth indicators and the specific national circumstances like the construction of a new nuclear plant in Lithuania. At this meeting, the Prime Minister declared that it is very important to reach a global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions after 2012 and underlined that Lithuania supports the EU’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by no less than 20% by 2020, however, alongside the EU commitment, it is crucial to ensure that the commitments of international partners are adequate.

According to the Prime Minister, Lithuania is currently looking at the realisation of its possibilities, which will depend on our plans to build a new nuclear plant. The sides also spoke about the importance of renewable energy resources in energy balances of individual states. Gediminas Kirkilas emphasized that Lithuania plans to increase the use of renewable energy resources gradually. The Lithuanian Prime Minister also admitted that saving energy is one of the most vital solutions to reducing pollution.

Gediminas Kirkilas and the Commissioners Dimas and Piebalgs also discussed the issues concerning the construction of “Nord Stream” gas pipeline and a bypass road around the Polish town of Augustow. The Prime Minister said that Lithuania is deeply concerned about the environmental situation in the Baltic Sea where the pipeline would run. According to Mr Kirkilas, it is necessary to ensure that infrastructure projects of this scale should be based on an independent assessment of environmental impact, taking into account the possible alternative land routes. Mr Dimas assured the Lithuanian Prime Minister that the European Commission understands the political significance of this issue and, therefore, the study should be objective.

Concerning the bypass around Augustow, Gediminas Kirkilas said that, although Lithuania recognizes the importance of environmental requirements, it also understands Poland’s position. Solutions regarding the Augustow bypass, in Mr Kirkilas’ view, are important, as it is an infrastructure project that will connect the two EU member states – Lithuania and Poland. The Prime Minister drew the Commissioners’ attention to the fact that Poland is the only window connecting the Baltic States with the European Union. However, the part of “Via Baltica” highway leading to Warsaw is the most accident-prone.