March 25, the European Council approved of the Lithuanian proposals to conduct tests on the NPP reliability on the territory of the European Union and beyond. The European Council has also endorsed the proposals of Lithuania over the fact that such tests should be carried out not only at the existing NPPs but also at those, planned for construction, including in Belarus. This was reported in the press service of the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite.
During the meeting in Brussels, the European Council reviewed the situation after the accidents at the nuclear power plants in Japan and adopted its conclusions on the directions of nuclear energy development in Europe. According to the press service of the Lithuanian leader, in light of recent events in Japan, the EU will seek to verify the NPP reliability in the European territory, involving all international organizations.
Grybauskaite, who took part in the European Council, presented concrete proposals, aimed at improving the safety of nuclear power at the existing and planned nuclear power plants close to the European Union.
«We’ve decided at the European Council meeting that it’s very important for Europe and its neighboring countries to have as safe nuclear power as possible. All the goals of Lithuania have been achieved,» Grybauskaite commented on the work of the European Council.
The European Council has obliged the European Commission to work out a specific concept of the EU requirements in the field of nuclear safety in relation to the neighboring countries, taking into account the results of audits at their stations, as well as their compliance with international obligations.
As Telegraf previously reported, the Lithuanian leadership has repeatedly expressed its concern about the projected nuclear power plant in Belarus. March 17, Seimas adopted a resolution on security of the NPP, planned for construction in Lithuania and its neighborhood. In the document, Lithuanian parliamentarians made known their deep concern over the NPP construction in Belarus, as its zone of radiation exposure can cover the territory of Lithuania, including Vilnius, reach and influence the Vilia basin. Lithuanian MPs demanded Belarus’s compliance with all provisions of the Espoo Convention, the IAEA and other international legal acts, as well as called on Minsk to respond to all Lithuania’s questions about nuclear power plant construction, to hold public hearings and bilateral consultations in Lithuania.
