Lithuania Urges EU to Halt NPP Construction in Belarus and Russia

22.03.2011 11:46
Архив Редакция

March 21, at an extraordinary meeting of the EU Energy Council in Brussels, Minister of Energy of Lithuania Arvydas Sekmokas showed concern about the nuclear power plant construction in Belarus and Kaliningrad region of Russia. Arvydas Sekmokas urged the EU to demand from the Belarusian and Russian authorities to stop the NPP construction projects "until their security is ensured."

Arvydas Sekmokas believes that developments in the Japanese nuclear power plant forced to consider the safety of nuclear energy a top priority.» According to the Lithuanian Minister, the EU should monitor the performance of all international standards for NPP construction in Belarus and Russia, reports IA «REGNUM-Belarus.»

Lithuania’s Minister of Energy noted that the present government of Russia and Belarus «violate international standards on nuclear safety, while the very construction of nuclear power plants is a «political project» for these countries.

Arvydas Sekmokas has stressed that Lithuania is trying to obtain «real, not simulated assessment of environmental impact,» to conform to international standards and conventions,» from the Belarusian and Russian authorities.

As Telegraf previously reported, March 17, Lithuanian Seimas adopted a resolution on NPP security, planned for construction in Lithuania and its neighborhood. The document showed Lithuanian parliamentarians’ deep concern over the NPP construction in Belarus, as its zones of radiation exposure could cover the territory of Lithuania, including Vilnius, as well as could 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, and called on Minsk to respond to all questions of Lithuania about nuclear power plants in essence, as well as to hold public hearings and bilateral consultations in Lithuania.

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