This week, President Gitanas Nausėda continues his working visit to Brussels where he is participating in the European Council. EU leaders discussed energy independence, security and defense as well as the EU’s economic competitiveness.
President Nausėda stressed to EU leaders the urgent need to take all measures to reduce energy dependence on Russia. According to Gitanas Nausėda, the EU’s disconnection from Russia’s energy supply should take place without delay by diversifying energy import sources, ensuring sufficient gas reserves in the EU and enabling mechanisms for price control and the security of energy sources. During the meeting, the President proposed that EU leaders create conditions for the Eastern Partnership countries to participate in the EU’s joint oil and gas purchases.
“We are financing the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine by buying Russian gas and oil. Reducing our energy dependence on Russia is a step that the EU had to take a long time ago. Today we have a great opportunity to diversify energy sources, to ensure their reliability and security as well as to have more leverage to control energy prices,” the Lithuanian leader said.
The President emphasized that the current security situation and the unprecedented scale of sanctions against Russia would also have an effect on the EU’s internal market and economy. We need to prepare for this, the President noted, by investing in sustainable energy and innovations and by strengthening the internal market.
During the European Council session, Gitanas Nausėda spoke in favor of increasing funding for security and defense and stressed that EU countries should increase defense funding to at least 2 percent of GDP.
The President welcomed the agreement reached on A Strategic Compass for the EU and highlighted the most relevant issues in the current context – the transatlantic partnership and military mobility as well as the flexibility of the EU’s fiscal rules in order to provide additional funding for security and defense, which Lithuania supported.
