Long-term energy strategy

Lithuania set 2005 as the deadline, winning praise from the European Union, which it seeks to join. President Valdas Adamkus has said he would consider building a new, modern nuclear plant. The cabinet voted unanimously in favor of the date, the first time Lithuania has set a firm deadline for shutting down the reactor at the Ignalina nuclear power plant. Parliament must still approve the shutdown schedule. Ignalina, 70 miles northeast of the capital Vilnius, operates two reactors similar to the one that caused the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine when a reactor exploded, spewing a cloud of radioactive dust over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and parts of western Europe. The plant currently provides Lithuania with more than 80 percent of its electrical energy needs, making the Baltic state the most nuclear-dependent country in the world. The EU has pressed hard for a firm date for the closure of the Soviet-built Ignalina plant, with some member states linking the date to Lithuania_s drive to start accession talks. Closing the first reactor might cost Lithuania $2.5 billion, Economy Minister Eugenijus Maldeikishe said. Estimates for the full decommissioning of the entire plant range as high as $4 billion, which Lithuania says it will not be able to cover alone. "Concerning the second unit, the issue will be solved in the amended energy strategy in 2004," Maldeikis said. The date is part of Lithuania_s long-term energy strategy, which Maldeikis will present to European Commission officials during a visit to Brussels later this week.