Estonian expert: Lithuania’s refusal to host Belarus’ NPP hearings has to do with politics

MINSK, 19 August (BelTA) – Lithuania’s refusal to host public hearings to discuss the Belarusian nuclear power plant can be explained by political and economic reasons, Associate Professor at the Faculty of International Relations of Euroacademy (Estonia) Leonid Karabeshkin told reporters, BelTA has learnt.

“Lithuania has embarked on a policy of enhancing its energy independence and energy security. In its view, Russia’s presence in the energy sector of the region should be reduced. Thus, the nuclear power plants in Belarus and Kaliningrad run afoul of Lithuania’s policy,” the expert said.

In his view, economic competition is also involved. Despite the negative results of the referendum on the Visaginas NPP held in Lithuania last year, some conservative groups of the Lithuanian political establishment still cherish hope to construct the Visaginas NPP.

“Therefore, they seek to eliminate the competitors somehow, or at least to make it as difficult as possible for them to proceed with their projects,” Leonid Karabeshkin said.

“There is also one more reason, i.e. a psychological factor associated with the NPP failures. It seems like it will be a huge blow to Lithuania’s image if they do not impede the progress in similar projects in the neighboring states. After all, chances are that Lithuania’s plans to construct the NPP will never materialize, while Belarus will have its own NPP,” he said.

“I think there are a lot of people and companies in Lithuania that would like to make money on the Belarus’ NPP project, which is understandable. However, it is also obvious that these companies do not have the necessary political leverage to reverse the political trend that was established by the conservatives in the previous years. This trend is involuntarily proceeded by social democrats who experience constant pressure from the conservatives and have little room for maneuver,” Leonid Karabeshkin said.

Belarus invited Lithuania to hold the public hearings of the environmental impact assessment report in Ostrovets on 17 August in line with requirements of the Espoo Convention. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus sent the corresponding letter to the Lithuanian authorities.

Belarus confirmed plans to issue free visas to all representatives of the general public of Lithuania, who are willing to take part in the hearings. It was not the first time Belarus suggested holding public hearings on the Belarusian NPP. In 2012 Belarus submitted additional materials to substantiate the choice of the Ostrovets site and information on the projected impact of the NPP on the environment and human health. In February 2013 Belarus invited Lithuania to hold bilateral consultations in March to answer questions of Lithuanian experts and the public following the study of the environmental impact assessment report. Lithuania did not respond to this suggestion. In April 2013 Belarus again provided answers to Lithuania’s questions and submitted proposals to hold consultations with specialists and the public by 20 May 2013. These suggestions were again ignored by Lithuania.