News

The Implementation Committee of the UN Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) heard into Lithuania’s claim that Belarus failed to meet convention requirements while building a new nuclear power plant (NPP).

At the conference held on 20-21 March in Geneva, Belarusian representatives could not give straight answers to the questions asked and provided the Committee with information, contradictory to former Belarus’ written affirmations. Therefore, members of the committee were forced to revise answers of the Belarussian delegation.

On the grounds of information presented by Lithuania and Belarus, the committee is planning to draft a findings and recommendations project on the assessment of Belarus’ position regarding the development of the nuclear power project.

It should be noted that already in January 2009, Belarus had started preparatory work for building the nuclear power plant at the construction site in Astraviets, only 50 km away from the capital of Lithuania. However, Belarus invited Lithuania to participate in the environmental impact assessment process only in August 2009. The Espoo Convention sets out that the construction of the object that has a transboundary impact on other countries should begin only after the completion of the environmental impact assessment, after answering questions raised by impacted countries and after organizing public hearings.

According to the data of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not only Lithuania, but also the European Commission has objected to the actions of Belarus, and informed Minsk in writing that the procedures for environmental impact assessment under the Espoo Convention were not completed and that Belarus had to answer remaining questions.