Lithuanian Prime Minister: Blackmailing from MEPs won't force us into steps inconsistent with nuclear safety

"I can put it very clearly – no blackmailing from members of the European Parliament or the non-blackmailing, as it has been said, will make us take steps that would be in any way dangerous to nuclear safety. The discussions with the contracting Nukem company are due to the fact that the equipment they supply meets the highest nuclear safety requirements. Until it is proven in accordance to all applicable laws and requirements to us and other international agencies – MEPs or somebody else can say whatever they want but we will not take any steps that would violate this," Kubilius said at an assembly of the ruling Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (conservatives) in Rukla on Saturday.

The prime minister expressed a belief that agreements would be reached "with contractors and all other agencies so that the work progresses."

During a visit in Lithuania earlier this week, members of the EP delegation issued a warning that the European Union may freeze funding for the Ignalina decommissioning project, if no agreement is reached on the closure projects by 17 July.

"The (European) Commission put a timeline on the Lithuanian government and that will end on 17 July, and the Commission put into place the question of freezing European funds if the management structure is not improved," German MEP Michael Theurer told reporters in Vilnius.

"That is the ultima ratio which we understand and back the Commission position," said the German politician, who chairs the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control.

Theurer noted that 467 million euros have been spent so far on the decommissioning work, which is less than half the amount allocated in the EU's 2007-2013 budget.

The EU parliamentarian said that if these problems are not solved, it will be difficult for Lithuania to negotiate for financing in the EU's next budget period. The European Commission has proposed to provide 210 million euros in EU funds for Ignalina plant's closure for the period starting in 2014, while Lithuania is asking for more than 700 million euros.

Ignalina plant's multi-billion-litas closure projects are running years behind schedule. The government accepts only part of the blame for the delays and says that much responsibility also lies on Brussels and Nukem, a Russian-owned German company selected by the EU as the general contractor for the closure projects.

It is said that 150 casks manufactured by Germany's GNS, Nukem's partner in the consortium, do not comply with the project's technical specifications and do not have the necessary certificates. Four of the casks have already been delivered to Visaginas, a town in eastern Lithuania where the nuclear power facility is located.

Lithuania and the Nukem-led consortium had until 15 July to reach an agreement on how to solve the issue of suitability of the GNS-manufactured spent nuclear fuel storage casks.

However, Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas doubts if the negotiations with Nukem will be completed on schedule. The minister said on Thursday that what matters most is that the interim spent fuel storage facility construction project, known as B1, and the solid radioactive waste management and storage complex project, known as B2/3/4, are completed in 2013.

Ignalina plant and the Lithuanian Energy Ministry agreed to cover a 78-million-euro funding shortfall in the solid radioactive waste management and storage facility project.