Lithuania's president-elect says she will push to open up the Baltic state's energy sector, which is still linked to the Soviet-era power grid.
Dalia Grybauskaite achieved an election landslide on Sunday to become Lithuania's first female president. "There is no internal market with electricity - it's very monopolised," Ms Grybauskaite told the BBC.
Asked about relations with Russia, she said she would "keep irritating rhetoric out of my language". Lithuania gets more than 80% of its gas and most of its oil from Russia.
Asked about relations with Russia, she said she would "keep irritating rhetoric out of my language". Lithuania gets more than 80% of its gas and most of its oil from Russia.
Like its Baltic neighbours, Lithuania has been hit hard by the global economic downturn. Its economy is expected to contract by as much as 15% this year and in January frustration over the crisis escalated into rioting. "I hope to be a stabiliser in this situation," said the president-elect, who will have the right to veto the budget if she so chooses.
Ms Grybauskaite is poised to step down as the European Union's budget commissioner before taking up the presidency.
BBC
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