Lithuanian parliament adopts controversial law on nuclear plant

Jun 28, 2007, 10:31 GMT

Vilnius - The Lithuanian parliament gave its final approval on Thursday to a controversial law concerning the construction of a new nuclear power plant.

In the last of three readings, the draft law was approved by 107 of the 120 members of parliament present, parliamentary press secretary Jolanta Anskaitiene told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The draft law has been written to give a legal framework to the most ambitious energy project the Baltic states have ever attempted: a nuclear power station jointly built by Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.

But it has recently fallen foul of controversy, with the project's partners reportedly disagreeing over the share that each should hold.

When initially planned in February 2006, the nuclear plant was conceived as a project in which the three Baltic states would each hold a one-third share.

However, in July 2006 Lithuania unilaterally invited Poland to join the project, leaving Latvia and Estonia facing a reduced stake in the venture.

And the law adopted on Thursday goes one step further, stating that Lithuania, as the host country, should hold a 34-per-cent stake in the project, with voting rights to match.

That proposal has reportedly disconcerted politicians in Lithuania's three partner countries, where some commentators have interpreted it as a breach of the regional solidarity which the plant was meant to embody.

But all sides are agreed that urgent action is needed to forestall a looming energy crisis. In 2009, Lithuania is due to close down a major Soviet-era nuclear power plant, potentially leaving all three Baltic states facing an energy deficit.