Opinions & Interviews

OSTROVETS, 20 September (BelTA) – Belarus demonstrates openness in matters concerning the construction of the nuclear power plant. European Commission Deputy Director General for Energy Gerassimos Thomas made the relevant statement after visiting the construction site near Ostrovets on 20 September, BelTA has learned.

Gerassimos Thomas said: “As far as the nuclear power plant in Ostrovets is concerned, yesterday and today the Energy Ministry, the regulating agency, the customer of the construction project provided data about the project to us. I can say that representatives of all the government agencies openly shared the available information with us.”

“It was a very open visit in an open atmosphere. We saw everything we wanted to see,” stressed Gerassimos Thomas.

In his opinion, cooperation with Belarus in energy matters should not be limited to nuclear energy. “We hope that we will have an opportunity to discuss cooperation in the development of renewable and alternative energy technologies, that we will be able to discuss the development of legal acts in this sphere,” he explained.

The European Commission representative spoke in favor of expanding interaction with Belarus. “The European Union intends to step up cooperation and dialogue with Belarus in many areas. For instance, we are trying to increase the volume of investments via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Now we are looking for new cooperation opportunities,” he said.

Gerassimos Thomas also said that it was the first visit to Belarus for himself and most of the members of the European Commission delegation. “We were very impressed with the capital city. We fell in love with Minsk,” he said. The European Commission representative mentioned the high level of hospitality demonstrated by the Belarusian side.

A European Commission delegation led by Gerassimos Thomas is in Belarus on a working visit on 19-20 September. The sides are expected to discuss a large number of matters concerning the implementation of the first Belarusian nuclear energy program. Stress testing the nuclear power plant (evaluation of risks and safety) is the main theme of the visit. Representatives of the European Commission visited the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction site on 20 September.