TITLE 4: PROVISIONS ON THE IGNALINA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN LITHUANIA

Article 52 Acknowledging the readiness of the Union to provide adequate additional assistance to the efforts by Lithuania to decommission the Ignalina nuclear power plant and highlighting this expression of solidarity, Lithuania has undertaken to close Unit 1 of the Ignalina nuclear power plant before 2005 and Unit 2 of this plant by 31 December 2009 at the latest and subsequently decommission these units. Article 53

1. During the period 2004—2006, the Union shall provide Lithuania with additional financial assistance in support of its efforts to decommission, and to address the consequences of the closure954393_TRAITE_EN_301_350 12-01-2005 15:56 Pagina 331 Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe 331 and decommissioning of, the Ignalina nuclear power plant (hereinafter ‘the Ignalina Programme’).
2. Measures under the Ignalina Programme shall be decided and implemented in accordance with the provisions laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe ( 1 ).
3. The Ignalina Programme shall, inter alia, cover: measures in support of the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant; measures for the environmental upgrading in line with the acquis and modernisation measures of conventional production capacity to replace the production capacity of the two Ignalina nuclear power plant reactors; and other measures which are consequential to the decision to close and decommission this plant and which contribute to the necessary restructuring, environmental upgrading and modernisation of the energy production, transmission and distribution sectors in Lithuania as well as to enhancing the security of energy supply and improving energy efficiency in Lithuania.
4. The Ignalina Programme shall include measures to support plant personnel in maintaining a high level of operational safety at the Ignalina nuclear power plant in the periods prior to the closure and during the decommissioning of the said reactor units.
5. For the period 2004—2006 the Ignalina Programme shall amount to 285 million euro in commitment appropriations, to be committed in equal annual tranches.
6. The contribution under the Ignalina Programme may, for certain measures, amount to up to 100 % of the total expenditure. Every effort should be made to continue the co‑financing practice established under the pre‑accession assistance for Lithuania’s decommissioning effort as well as to attract co‑financing from other sources, as appropriate.
7. The assistance under the Ignalina Programme, or parts thereof, may be made available as a Union contribution to the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund, managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
8. Public aid from national, Union and international sources: (a) for the environmental upgrading in line with the acquis and modernisation measures of the Lithuanian Thermal Power Plant in Elektrenai as the key replacement for the production capacity of the two Ignalina nuclear power plant reactors; and (b) for the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant shall be compatible with the internal market as defined in the Constitution. ( 1 )
9. Public aid from national, Union and international sources in support of Lithuania’s efforts to address the consequences of the closure and of the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant may, on a case by case basis, be considered to be compatible — under the Constitution — with the internal market, in particular public aid provided for enhancing the security of energy supply. Article 54
10. Recognising that the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant is of a long‑term nature and represents for Lithuania an exceptional financial burden not commensurate with its size and economic strength, the Union shall, in solidarity with Lithuania, provide adequate additional assistance to the decommissioning effort beyond 2006.
11. The Ignalina Programme shall be, for this purpose, seamlessly continued and extended beyond
12. Implementing provisions for the extended Ignalina Programme shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 35 of this Protocol and enter into force, at the latest, by the date of expiry of the Financial Perspective as defined in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May
14. The Ignalina Programme, as extended in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2, shall be based on the same elements and principles as described in Article 53.
15. For the period of the subsequent Financial Perspective, the overall average appropriations under the extended Ignalina Programme shall be appropriate. Programming of these resources will be based on actual payment needs and absorption capacity. Article 55 Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 52, the general safeguard clause referred to in Article 26 shall apply until 31 December 2012 if energy supply is disrupted in Lithuania. Article 56 This Title shall apply in the light of the Declaration on the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania which incorporates, without altering its legal effect, the wording of the preamble to Protocol 4 to the Act of Accession of 16 April 2003.