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Nuclear Plant Closure 'Precondition' For Closer Ties With EU

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  • Nuclear Plant Closure 'Precondition' For Closer Ties With EU

    NUCLEAR PLANT CLOSURE 'PRECONDITION' FOR CLOSER TIES WITH EU
    By Astghik Bedevian

    Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
    Oct 31 2006

    The closure of the nuclear power plant at Metsamor is a precondition
    for the deepening of Armenia's links with the European Union under
    the bloc's European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) program, Trade and
    Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian said Tuesday.

    Chshmaritian said the matter is included in Armenia's plan of
    ENP-related actions which is due to be signed by Armenian and EU
    officials in Brussels on November 13. The document calls for more
    political and economic reforms that would entitle Yerevan to a
    privileged partnership with the 25-nation union.

    Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, which currently holds the
    EU's rotating presidency, and his Armenian counterpart Vartan Oskanian
    said on October 2 that successful implementation of the action plan
    would have far-reaching implications. In a joint statement issued
    after their talks in Yerevan, they said Armenia's ties with the EU
    would go "beyond cooperation" and involve a "significant measure of
    economic integration."

    The decommissioning of Metsamor's sole reactor has always been high
    on the agenda of the EU's dealings with Armenia. The EU believes that
    the facility is inherently unsafe because of its Soviet design and
    location in a seismically active zone.

    The Armenian authorities dismiss those concerns. They insist that the
    plant, which meets almost 40 percent of Armenia's electricity needs,
    is safe enough to remain operational until 2016. European government
    seem to have come to terms with this tentative decommissioning date.

    Earlier this year the Armenian government announced its intention to
    replace Metsamor by another, more modern nuclear plant over the next
    decade and look for foreign investors interested in financing its
    construction estimated to cost at least $1 billion. U.S. reaction
    to the extremely ambitious project has been lukewarm, with a senior
    State Department official suggesting last May that there are "probably
    better alternatives" to it.

    According to Chshmaritian, no EU country has expressed the readiness
    so far to assist in the project's implementation.
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