Opinions & Interviews

VILNIUS, 20 May (BelTA-TASS) – The European Commission has no information that would suggest that Belarus does not adhere to the safety requirements in the construction of the nuclear power plant in Ostrovets, EU Commissioner from Lithuania Vytenis Andriukaitis stated on 20 May.

“We have no information that would suggest that Belarus ignores the safety standards,” he said. In his words, the European Commission and Minsk actively cooperate in the area. “Belarus takes all recommendations into account,” said Vytenis Andriukaitis.

According to the EU Commissioner, control over the construction of the NPP in Belarus will be continued, the same as at other similar facilities. “Requirements to nuclear power plants that are being built in Finland and Belarus are uniform. There cannot be double standards in matters of safety,” Vytenis Andriukaitis stated.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant, the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.