Energy, Legislation, Lithuania, Nuclear power plant, Society

"All proposals in a free country are assessed as possible and feasible. The president's aim is simple, she has declared it long time ago – it is important to ensure Lithuania's energy independence. The Visaginas NPP is one of the instruments to achieve the independence. Therefore, the president seeks to achieve this goal and her policy is particularly aimed at implementing it," Jonavicius answered to a question of what he thinks about Lithuanian Green Movement's proposal to hold a referendum on the Visaginas NPP constructions in an interview for the News Radio (Ziniu Radijas) on Tuesday, reports LETA/ELTA.

On the other hand, Jonavicius said that the Visaginas NPP is not the only instrument in achieving the energy independence and he said energy connections with the North countries and a liquefied natural gas terminal which is planned to be built in Lithuania to be also very important.

"The aim is clear, and all social groups, whatever they are, may have their own intentions. No one is going to prevent them from seeking it, if they do it legally," Jonavicius said.

The Green Movement urge to hold a referendum in order to clarify whether Lithuania needs a new NPP. They claim that only energy gained from renewable resource may ensure the country's energy independence. Therefore, more attention should be paid to expansion of this area without rushing with the Visaginas NPP constructions. Whereas, energy and politics experts observe that, usually, Greens become more active with their populist initiatives before any elections.