The concept of the agency, which has been drafted by the ministry, provides for the reorganization of the INPP, the Radioactive Waste Management Agency, the Energy Agency, the INPP regional development agency, and the Central Project Management Agency by transferring some of their functions to the new agency thus avoiding the conflict of interests.
Patricija Ceiko, chief specialist of the INPP Decommissioning division of the Energy Ministry, told BNS that the establishment of the agency would be governed by a separate legal act. The concept provided for several options of the agency’s functions, she said.
“We have great doubts as to the scope of functions to be taken from the INPP,” Ceiko said.
“The agency would operate in two key areas, one of which would be related to INPP decommissioning processes and the other one would cover the management of all radioactive waste being generated in Lithuania,” the ministry said in the document made available to the public.
According to the plans, the agency, which would have the status of a state enterprise, would launch operations in the first quarter of 2014.
The aim of the reorganization is to fulfill Lithuania’s obligations to the European Union (EU) related with the decommissioning of INPP. The first unit of the nuclear facility was closed at the end of 2004, and the second one, at the end of 2009. The nuclear power plant, which was built in Soviet times and is considered unsafe, should be fully decommissioned by 2030.
The EU provides support for the INPP decommissioning in accordance with Lithuania’s Accession Treaty. However, Vilnius claims that the amount, which the EU intends to allocate in 2014 through 2017, is insufficient.
