Chairperson of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze met with Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Kreivys

Chairperson of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze met with Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Kreivys. The parties discussed issues of Ukrainian-Lithuanian cooperation. Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Kreivys informed about the visit of President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda to Ukraine, which will take place in March this year and expressed hope that the visit would be successful and create new preconditions for further development of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the Republic of Lithuania.

Also, during the meeting, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze and Dainius Kreivys focused on joint challenges and threats in the energy sector of the two countries. The Ukrainian side shares the concerns of the Lithuanian side in connection with the intentions of the Republic of Belarus to start commercial operation of the NPP designed by Russia. It is important to continue further cooperation in order to implement international nuclear safety standards and to pay special attention to compliance with safety standards at the nuclear power plant designed by the Russian Federation in Belarus. The parties expressed concern over the hasty launch of the Ostrovets NPP, which is being built without complying with the requirements of international conventions and expert recommendations. Also, electricity from countries that operate power plants that are built without complying with such requirements should not be allowed on their markets.

Committee Chairperson Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze expressed hope that the Ukrainian parliament would have enough willpower to restore those laws that make it impossible to purchase electricity in Belarus and the aggressor country, Russia.

During the discussion, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania Dainius Kreivys spoke in favor of Lithuania's support for Ukraine's synchronization of Ukraine's integrated energy system with the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E), which will allow our country to disconnect from the energy systems of Russia and Belarus by 2023.

The deepening of Ukraine's strategic partnership with Lithuania also takes place in the context of the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. Ukrainian-Lithuanian cooperation in the field of energy is aimed at improving energy security, development of the energy sector and integration of Ukraine's energy markets into EU markets. The Lithuanian side welcomed the legislative initiative aimed at temporarily suspending electricity imports from countries that are not members of the Energy Community until the end of 2021, with the exception of electricity needed to operate the network or provide emergency assistance. In this regard, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze stressed the inadmissibility of returning to Russian gas supply schemes in Ukraine.

In this regard, Chairperson of the Committee Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that at the level of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union all bills registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are being processed, including those belonging to the energy sector and falling under Annex XXVII to Chapter 1 of the Association Agreement. "We analyze them for compliance with the Association Agreement and the law of the European Union and send them to the Government in order to harmonize the provisions of these bills with the European Commission within the timeframe set out in Annex XXVII," she said. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze also expressed hope for constructive cooperation in the field of energy with the European Commission and obtaining conclusions from them on the compatibility of draft laws with the relevant provisions of the EU acquis.

Pursuant to paragraphs 6 and 7 of Annex XXVII-A to Chapter 1 of the Association Agreement, "Ukraine is obliged to refrain from the entry into force of the acts submitted for consultations referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Annex XXVII-A before the European Commission complete the assessment of the compatibility of the draft law with the relevant provisions of the EU acquis and in case the European Commission concludes that the draft law is incompatible with the above provisions of the EU acquis".