Public sitting of four committees will be held at the Riigikogu
A joint sitting of the Economic Affairs Committee, the Environment Committee, the National Defence Committee and the Rural Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia), will be held today at the initiative of the Economic Affairs Committee. At the sitting, the issues relating to energy supply will be discussed together with the representatives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, academics and the experts of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC).
Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee Toomas Kivimägi said that increasing of energy security is a priority for both the European Union and Estonia, because it involves more than just economic security. “Our priorities are faster joining of the European power network i.e. synchronisation, and also increasing the role of renewable energy in order to reduce dependence on imported energy,” said Kivimägi. He added that one of our greatest challenges is the exhaustion of the working life of the old blocks of Narva Power Stations and the considerable reduction of energy production it will cause.
Head of the Unit of Energy Security of the Joint Research Centre Marcelo Masera, and researchers of the JRC Energy Security, Systems and Market Unit Arturs Purvins and Nicola Zaccarelli have been invited to attend the sitting. Masera will give an overview of the public opinion poll on energy security in the EU countries; Purvins will speak about synchronising the Baltic power networks with the European power networks, and Zaccarelli about the risk assessment of the functioning of the gas market, and steps for improving supply security.
It is also planned to hold discussions on the perspectives of the synchronisation of the Estonian energy system and on the future needs of the Estonian gas market, which will be started by Ando Leppiman, Deputy Secretary General for Energy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
The sitting is a part of the JRC initiative “Science Meets Parliaments”, which aims to increase contacts between the members of national parliaments and the researchers.
The sitting is held at the Riigikogu Conference Hall today, beginning at 2 p.m., and will be streamed online on the Riigikogu website.
A conference on the same topic (in English and Estonian) will be held at the Estonian Academy of Sciences today at 10 a.m. This conference will also be streamed online.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
Phone +372 631 6353, +372 510 6179
e-mail [email protected]
Questions [email protected]
