Press Releases

Lithuania and Germany – the same approach towards EU energy policy

Thursday, June 23, Berlin - President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with German President Christian Wulf. This was the first bilateral meeting of the Lithuanian President with the new German President elected last summer.

The Presidents discussed energy security, bilateral cooperation and EU financial policy issues.

According to the President of Lithuania who is visiting Germany at the invitation of President Christian Wulf, Germany understands Lithuania's aspirations towards energy independence and security and German support has been greatly valuable in seeking that the EU leaders adopt decisions important for the Baltic states, i.e. to create, by 2015, a single European energy market and eliminate energy islands.

"Energy independence is the key priority of the state of Lithuania. Therefore, support from EU Member States is particularly important for Lithuania for the implementation of power, gas and transport projects that will guarantee energy independence of the Baltic states," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

Discussing the issue of nuclear safety, the Lithuanian and German Presidents underlined that energy security of the region was possible only provided that safe functioning of nuclear power plants in the EU and the neighboring countries was ensured.

"Nuclear safety is a shared responsibility of us all. Open and benevolent cooperation would further strengthen mutual trust in the international community," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

The EU leaders have already taken account of the President's calls expressed in a letter of May 30 to take concrete measures to make the EU neighboring countries to follow international safety and environmental standards in their nuclear power plants. The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has raised these issues in his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the EU-Russian Summit on June 9-10.

Much focus in the meeting of the Presidents was placed on Lithuanian-German cultural cooperation: joint initiatives to present more widely the cultural heritage of Karaliaučius (presently, Kaliningrad) and Lithuania Minor to Europe. The Heads of State also agreed to promote joint trilateral projects with Russia in the area of cultural tourism, by presenting works by K. Donelaitis, Vydūnas and Thomas Mann to readers worldwide.

President Grybauskaitė invited President Christian Wulf to come for a state visit to Lithuania.

In the afternoon, the Lithuanian President will depart to Brussels to attend a two-day meeting of the European Council.

Press Service of the President