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On 26 March at the meeting of EU Ministers for European Affairs in Brussels, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Egidijus Meilūnas stressed that further adequate financing of the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant (NPP) was one of the most important issues of the ongoing debate on the future EU Multiannual Financial Framework.

“It has already been repeatedly stressed that, in our opinion, the European Commission’s proposal is unacceptable and does not comply with the EU commitment to ensure adequate funding, as set out in the Treaty of Accession of Lithuania. We are not speaking about a national project, but we are talking about a project of the entire EU,” Meilūnas said.

The General Affairs Council meeting included a political debate on expenditures in various categories in the EU’s budget for 2014-2020. The Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU generalised all the earlier discussions and submitted a draft “negotiation package” on categories of essential expenditure.

Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister called on properly including provisions for further financing of the closure of the Ignalina NPP in the draft “negotiation package”, as it was done in 2005 during the negotiations on the EU budget for 2007-2013. Lithuania invites EU member states to comply with their obligations and to ensure adequate financing of the closure of the Ignalina NPP during the ongoing negotiations.

Meilūnas also invited the EU not to diminish future EU funding in the most important for Lithuania areas of the Common Agricultural and Cohesion Policies. Ministers will hold a political debate on the financing of these policies also during the General Affairs Council meeting in April.

It is planned to discuss the “negotiation package” also during the meeting of EU heads of state and government in June 2012. This package will enlist essential elements of negotiations on the new multiannual financial framework, which will be followed by further political negotiations on their financing.