Luxembourg and Lithuania Sign Renewable Energies Agreement

The signing of the cooperation agreement of 26 October 2017 between Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania, and Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, in the presence HE Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and HRH The Grand Duke, marks a new stage in the pursuit of the European Union's (EU) goal of achieving at least 20% of its needs energy sources through the use of renewable energy sources by 2020.

Directive 2009/28/EC sets an individual objective for each Member State and has therefore introduced the possibility of setting up mechanisms for cooperation between countries in order to achieve both the individual objectives and the ambition set for whole of the EU. While all EU countries have renewable energy sources that can be exploited on their territory, certain areas of Europe have greater potential for renewable energies than others.

The national renewable energy action plan approved by the government in 2010 stipulated that the country should use cooperative mechanisms to achieve its goals. The Grand Duchy achieved its intermediate objectives by its own means, by promoting and supporting wind and solar energy as well as biomass, and now also uses the cooperation provided by the directive to achieve the 11% targeted by 2020.

Co-operation mechanisms offer the possibility of transferring renewable energy quantities from one country to another Member State. Thus, nations with greater potential are encouraged to exceed their target. In 2011, Luxembourg started negotiations with various Member States that could exceed their 2020 target. In 2011, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Lithuania to collaborate in this area. Negotiations intensified in 2015 and finally led to the signature of the agreement, which is a first in Europe in this area.

By signing the first cooperation agreement under the above-mentioned European Directive of 2009, the Republic of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg underlined their political commitment to regional and bilateral cooperation in the field of energy production from renewable and sustainable resources. This commitment is of major importance to the Winter Package presented by the European Commission and the new targets to be set for 2030. The signature demonstrates that European countries are able to cooperate closely in order to achieve together common objectives.

The contribution of the Republic of Lithuania in the framework of this cooperation with the Grand Duchy will be primarily represented by wind, solar and geothermal energy, then by biomass obtained through sustainable forest management. By signing this agreement, the Republic of Lithuania has committed to allocate the financial resources for cooperation to new projects and/or scientific research in the field of renewable energy sources in the country.

The agreement extends from 2018 to 2020. The Republic of Lithuania is more than likely to exceed the 23% it aspires to, so it is able to conclude an agreement with another Member State and, in doing so, open the cooperation mechanisms within the European Union.

According to Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania, "In view of the upcoming negotiations on the Winter Package, we could be proud of our good practices in this cooperation. This will be of particular importance after 2020, when it will be up to the Member States to reach the ambitious EU target in a cost-effective way."

Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, said: "With the signing of this agreement, we are on the right track to carry out our 2011 national action plan for renewable energies. We are the first to show that real cooperation in the field of renewable energies is possible and benefits both the partners in the agreement and the objective pursued at European level. "

Cooperation between Luxembourg and Lithuania will be followed by another European agreement on mechanisms for cooperation on renewable energies with Estonia. The signing ceremony will take place in Tallinn on 7 November 2017.