Sittings · Document

DRAFT REPORT (COM(2025)0476 – C100271/2025 – 2025/0268(NLE)) 2026-03-03

On the proposal for a Council regulation establishing the nuclear decommissioning assistance programme of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania for the period 2028-2034, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/101

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy · Rapporteur: Virginijus Sinkevičius

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The rapporteur's draft report approves the Commission proposal for a Council regulation on the Ignalina nuclear decommissioning programme for 2028-2034, with amendments. It drops the word "indicative" from the financial envelope of EUR 678 000 000 and keeps the Union co-financing rate at 86%. It adds anti-drone protection of the site and the deep geological repository for spent fuel and radioactive waste to the programme's scope. It deletes the planned reduction of the workforce by at least one third and the Commission's power to amend the Annex by implementing acts. It limits Union funding to legal entities established in a Member State or an associated country, and requires safeguards for knowledge sharing.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes to approve the Commission proposal as amended, strengthening it with targeted amendments on stable funding, anti-drone protection, technological sovereignty and inclusion of the deep geological repository.

Key points

  1. Parliament approves the Commission proposal as amended and calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly.
  2. The regulation is renamed the "Ignalina Programme" and its legal basis in Protocol No 4 to the 2003 Act of Accession is emphasised.
  3. The financial envelope is set at EUR 678 000 000 in current prices for 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2034, without the term "indicative".
  4. The Union co-financing rate should be as close to 86% as possible, with the rest from Lithuania and other sources.
  5. The programme is to finance measures against unmanned aerial systems threatening the nuclear facility site.
  6. The programme is to cover disposal of spent fuel and radioactive waste in a deep geological repository and its funding.
  7. The requirement to cut the decommissioning workforce by at least one third compared with full-time equivalents at the end of 2024 is deleted.
  8. The Commission's power to amend the Annex by implementing acts is removed.
  9. Union funding is limited to legal entities established in a Member State or a country associated with relevant Union programmes, unless justified by security or technical necessity.
  10. Knowledge dissemination beyond the Union is subject to safeguards protecting sensitive technical information, critical know-how and strategic capabilities.
  11. The Joint Research Centre coordinates knowledge sharing, financed under INSC-D at 100% of eligible costs.
  12. The financial envelope may also cover technical and administrative assistance, including protection of the site against unmanned aerial systems.

Who is affected

  • Lithuania: must provide co-financing and remains responsible for nuclear safety and waste management.
  • Legal entities in Member States or associated countries: eligible for Union funding under the programme.
  • The Joint Research Centre: coordinates and finances knowledge dissemination.
  • Workers at the Ignalina plant: the planned workforce reduction is deleted, so staffing is retained.
  • The Commission: must alter its proposal and may not amend the Annex by implementing acts.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 678 000 000 in current prices, the financial envelope for 2028-2034.
  • 86%, the Union co-financing rate.
  • 31 December 2004 and 31 December 2009, deadlines for closure of Unit 1 and Unit 2.
  • at least one third, the workforce reduction compared with full-time equivalents at the end of 2024 (deleted).
  • February 2025, the drone attack on the Chernobyl NPP.
  • 6.5 billion Euros, the estimated cost of final disposal.
  • about 14%, Lithuania's contribution to direct decommissioning activities.
  • some 88%, the share of domestic electricity demand covered by nuclear power in 1993.

Legal basis: Article 3(2) of Protocol No 4 attached to the 2003 Act of Accession.

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