Lithuania waits for power bridge

Lithuania fears energy shortages once its Ignalina nuclear power plant is closed down at the end of the year in line with EU stipulations. Among other things a new power line between Lithuania and Poland is intended to ease the situation, but the latter won't be ready in time for the closure. The daily Lietuvos Rytas points out that the idea is not new: "It's been ten years since the project for a so-called power bridge was shelved in June 1999. This would have hooked up Lithuania's power network with that of Poland and later the rest of the EU. And back then Brussels had already been promised that the Ignalina nuclear power station would be shut down. Have Lithuanian politicians learned any lessons from this? Ten years ago a consortium with strong partners from Germany and other European countries managed to convince the Polish authorities that the project was worthwhile, but it was Lithuania under former prime minister Rolandas Paksas that put a stop to [the project]."

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