Parliamentary State Secretary Dr Franziska Brantner is visiting Lithuania today. She will be attending the ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Vilnius and be meeting with Mr Dainius Kreivy, Lithuania’s Minister of Energy, to discuss matters related to energy security and renewable energy, including independence from Russian energy imports and our future energy supply. She will also be holding talks with Ms Jovita Neliupšienė, Vice Minister of the Economy and Innovation. On Friday, she will be travelling to Estonia to discuss digital policy issues with Mr Andres Sutt, Estonia’s Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology. She will also be meeting with representatives of Start-Ups .

Parlamentary State Secretary Dr. Brantner said: "Ambitious climate action, the diversification of energy supply, the expansion of renewable energy, the establishment of a European market for green hydrogen and the improvement of energy efficiency are more urgent than ever. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine shows us that the rapid expansion of renewable energy is essential in order to become independent from Russian energy as soon as possible. The Baltic countries started this process a long time ago. Estonia and Lithuania have been focusing on the expansion of renewable energy, especially of Offshore wind energy."