Adam (PSE). – Mr President, the EU-Lithuania Joint Parliamentary Committee met in Brussels last week and the discussions confirmed the progress made towards accession which is spelt out in paragraphs 78 to 84 of the report. Two chapters remain to be closed. Firstly in agriculture, where some flexibility on the issue of quotas would be welcome and secondly, in the financial chapter, where the contribution to the financing of the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant and the provision of alternative electricity generation are outstanding matters. This requires agreement on the decommissioning procedures and the timescale.

The JPC noted the need to closely monitor progress with the SAPARD, Phare and Ispra programmes and to ensure that Lithuania is fully prepared to exploit the structural and rural funding possibilities after accession. The early approval of the single programming document is essential in this respect.

Regarding the recent agreement made over the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, I want to stress that Lithuanian sovereignty must be respected and Schengen membership not compromised. We are, however, concerned that the practical problems may delay the implementation.

I have made a study of the nuclear aspects of accession. The closures of the nuclear power plants at Ignalina and Kozloduy both require an energy strategy which takes neighbouring countries into account. For example the completion of Unit 2 at Cernovoda is fully justified by the Phare study of August 2001. The closure of units 3 and 4 at Kozloduy should be reassessed in the light of the International Atomic Energy Agency's conclusion, in its report, issued in June that these units have reached a level of operational safety which corresponds to those of the same age in other parts of the world.

I hope that the Council will agree to such a revaluation.