VILNIUS, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania and Luxembourg signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the area of renewable energy, the first such agreement in the EU, the Baltic country's presidency announced on Thursday.
The agreement was signed during the royal official visit of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg to Lithuania, under which Luxembourg will obtain the exceeded statistical indicators from Lithuania.
"The agreement signed today is an excellent example of countries sharing achievements and assisting each other in delivering EU commitments," Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania's President, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidency.
"The two nations are linked by successful political, economic and military cooperation ties, and their bilateral relations are now entering into a new quality phase," she said.
The agreement foresees the statistical transfers of energy from renewable sources for target compliance purposes under the relevant EU Directive. The EU has common targets in the area of renewables, however, each EU member state has its individual targets.
Lithuania in 2014 has exceeded its 20 percent target set by the EU for 2020. Currently, renewable energy produced in Lithuania stands at 25.5 percent and it is expected to constitute more than 30 percent in 2020 --which would exceed the EU target for 2030.
Ten million euros which Lithuania will receive after selling its excess renewables' quota will be used for the further development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, Lithuania's Ministry of Energy said.
"Theoretical opportunity has been turned into the practical instrument of bilateral success," Zygimantas Vaiciunas, Lithuania's minister of energy, said.
He signed the agreement together with vice Prime Minister of Luxembourg Etienne Schneider.
On his part, Grand Duke Henri said that Luxembourg also sees new bilateral opportunities in logistics, innovation, financial and information technologies.
