Lithuanian nuclear power referendum, 2012

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An advisory referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power station was held in Lithuania on 14 October 2012, alongside parliamentary elections. [1] The proposal was rejected by 65% of voters.

Lithuania republic in Northeastern Europe

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. Lithuania is considered to be one of the Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden and Denmark. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 2.8 million people as of 2019, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. Other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians are Baltic people. The official language, Lithuanian, along with Latvian, is one of only two living languages in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family.

Contents

Background

The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, being of a similar design to the Chernobyl plant, was considered too dangerous by the European Commission and it was closed in 2009, as part of a deal agreed when Lithuania joined the EU in 2004. [2] A referendum in 2008 had seen a large majority (89%) vote in favour of keeping the plant open, but the low turnout of 48% (with the threshold set at 50%) invalidated the result. [2] After closing the Ignalina plant, the country became dependent on energy supplies from neighbouring Russia. [2] Plans to build a new 1,350MW nuclear power plant at Visaginas by 2020–2022 were subsequently developed by the Lithuanian government together with Latvia, Estonia and the Japanese company Hitachi. [1] Lithuania would own 38% of the plant, Estonia 22%, Latvia 20% and Hitachi 20%. [2]

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant nuclear power plant

The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is a closed two-unit RBMK-1500 nuclear power station in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania. It was named after the nearby city of Ignalina. Due to the plant's similarities to the failed Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in both reactor design and lack of a robust containment building, Lithuania agreed to close the plant as part of its accession agreement to the European Union. Unit 1 was closed in December 2004. The remaining Unit 2 which counted for 25% of Lithuania's electricity generating capacity and supplied about 70% of Lithuania's electrical demand, was closed on December 31, 2009. Proposals have been made to construct a new nuclear power plant at the same site.

Russia transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia

Russia, officially the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and North Asia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is by a considerable margin the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 146.77 million people as of 2019, including Crimea. About 77% of the population live in the western, European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is one of the largest cities in the world and the second largest city in Europe; other major cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. However, Russia recognises two more countries that border it, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are internationally recognized as parts of Georgia.

On 16 July the Seimas made a decision to hold an advisory referendum on the construction of the new plant by a vote of 62–39. [2] The proposal to hold a referendum was opposed by the ruling Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, which accused opposition parties of seeking to make political capital out of the issue prior to the elections. Former President Valdas Adamkus described the decision to hold the referendum as "nonsense," asking "What if the nation decides against, and the government decides to build it? [1]

Seimas unicameral parliament of Lithuania

The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, or simply the Seimas, is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendments to the Constitution, passing the budget, confirming the Prime Minister and the Government and controlling their activities.

Valdas Adamkus President of Lithuania

Valdas Adamkus is a Lithuanian politician. He was the President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For463,96635.23
Against853,16364.77
Invalid/blank votes43,953–
Total1,361,082100
Registered voters/turnout2,588,41852.58
Source: VRK

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Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant

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2008 Lithuanian nuclear power referendum

A referendum on extending the operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was held in Lithuania on 12 October 2008 alongside parliamentary elections. The country's government was obliged to close down Ignalina as part of its treaty of accession to the European Union.

Lithuania does not have any operational nuclear power reactor. It operated two RBMK reactors at Ignalina nuclear power plant which were shut down in 2004 and 2009.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Ex-President Valdas Adamkus calls scheduled nuclear plant referendum a mockery 15 min, 7 August 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lithuania to hold referendum on new nuclear plant AFP, 16 July 2012
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