Lithuania is trying to pressure the European Union into paying it massive financial support for decommissioning Ignalina by 2009, which Brussels is demanding as a condition for allowing it to join the EU. In ongoing accession negotiations, Lithuania claims it cannot afford to carry out the work, estimating that it will cost r3 billion. The Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus has said that his government cannot agree to the closure of the second reactor at Ignalina until the funding from the EU is agreed. If the discussion continues, then Lithuania’s entry to the EU will probably be delayed.
