Closing Nuclear Plant Roils Lithuania and European Union

The Economist magazine says that the Lithuanian government erred when it agreed to shut down the aging yet “perfectly serviceable” nuclear power plant at Ignalina as a condition of joining the European Union. By agreeing to close Ignalina in 2009 without winning approval for plans to build a more modern plant on the same site, the Economist says, the Lithuanians have bowed to a “neurotic strand of greenery” in Europe that will render the small, former Soviet state 90 percent dependent on energy from fossil fuels. The magazine notes that populist political parties may take power in Lithuania’s autumn elections and chose to ignore the agreement to close Ignalina, threatening the country’s entry into the EU.