The Lithuanian government tries to get a discount from Russian national gas major Gazprom. Estonia goes ahead with the realization on a LNG terminal in Tallinn.
Difficult negotiations and gas supplies diversification are the two strategies of EU Baltic States to decrease a high energy dependence on Russia.
As Interfax news agency reported, Lithuanian PM Algirdas Butkevicius aims to renew negotiations with Russian national gas major Gazprom in order to establish a new contract for gas supplies from Russia.
Lithuania, which depends on Russia's gas supplies for the 99% of its national energy need, wants to agree with Moscow a fair price, and no more get imposed tariff by the Kremlin as has been occurred during last years.
Former moderate PM Andrijus Kubilijus proposed Russia to fix gas prices for Lithuania to the biofuel ones, but Moscow preferred to fix them to the oil tariffs, imposing Vilnius a 504 USD for tcm high gas price.
The new social-democratic government led by Butkevicius decided to try again with negotiations with Gazprom, in order to decrease gas supplies's price.
Moreover, Lithuanian PM argued that Lithuania could retire the denunciation against Gazprom at the International Court in Stockholm if a discount by Russia will be obtained.
In order to protest against Russia's energy policy in the EU, the Lithuanian government denounced Gazprom after Russian national gas major recognized gas supplies discounts for Western European Country - Germany and France, in exchange of Berlin and Paris political support to Moscow's energy plans - and imposed high gas tariffs to Lithuania, Poland, and other Central European countries at the same time.
Lithuania's position has been shared by the European Commission when opening an inquiry on Gazprom's unfair activity in Central EU member states' markets in September 2012 .
If on the one hand Lithuania is trying to open a dialogue with Gazprom. On the other hand Estonia is realizing infrastructures to guarantee energy independence from Russia.
As Natural Gas Europe reported, Dutch energy company Vopak planed the realization of an LNG terminal in Tallinn, in order to import liquefied gas from Qatar, Algeria and Egypt.
Estonian LNG terminal is going to diversify gas supplies not only for Estonia, but also for Lithuania and Latvia. For this reason, the European Commission could finance the project to guarantee energy security to three EU member states.
Matteo Cazzulani
