Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Lithuania, Nuclear power plant

The president had a phone conversation with EC President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday and they discussed the Astravyets issue, as well as the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit, the ongoing negotiations on the EU's multiannual budget and the social and economic consequences of the fight against the coronavirus, the presidential press service said.

"The Astravyets NPP in Belarus is a nuclear safety issue for the whole of the EU, as well as a test of solidarity, collective response and responsibility for EU citizens. We must ensure our safety and the safety of all EU citizens and to prevent electricity produced by unsafe power plants in third countries from entering the EU internal market," Nauseda was quoted as saying in a statement.

The president pointed to the fact that nuclear fuel has already been delivered to the nuclear facility and is about to be loaded, despite the fact that the nuclear facility's safety issues have not been resolved yet.

The European Commission should use all instruments in its jurisdiction to ensure that Belarus implement the EU stress tests' requirements before the launch of the power plant, thus ensuring the safety of EU citizens, Nauseda said.

The Lithuanian president also called on the EC president to get personally involved in the resolution of matters related to ensuring safety of the Astravyets NPP.

Speaking of the EU economy, the Lithuanian president emphasized that smooth functioning of the internal market and financial response adequate to the scale of the crisis, i.e., increased multiannual EU budget and sufficient European recovery fund was needed for the economic recovery of the EU. 

"The situation calls for a more flexible approach to the use of financial instruments as well as special attention to the funding of cohesion and agriculture priorities which could mitigate the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic and would allow using the situation for developing digitization, green economy and circular economy projects," the president said.

The president also highlighted the need to create a level playing field for all member states to benefit from the funding of the recovery fund.

The president shared the results of talks with the leaders of the Eastern Partnership countries and welcomed the support package initiated by the European Commission for the Eastern Partners to combat the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak noting that support for overcoming the crisis should not be provided at the expense of reform programs.

"Stepping up the Eastern Partnership policy and agenda is highly important at this difficult time when we see disinformation campaigns carried out by some states. We have to build an ambitious and long-term agenda for the Eastern Partnership based on mutual understanding and increased support for those countries which are prepared to pursue a European perspective through political, economic and legal reforms," the Lithuanian president said.

Nauseda pointed out that the Eastern Partnership summit, scheduled for June, could be a significant step towards achieving the objectives of this policy, if attended by all member states and Eastern partnership countries.