Ergma: Estonia should build nuclear plant

TALLINN - Estonian Parliamentary Speaker Ene Ergma has urged thelegislature to consider the construction of a nuclear power plant in thecountry.

At the first meeting of the autumn session, the speaker saidthat the country needed a new power source in response to Russia'suse of energy supplies as a political tool.

"Energy is one of the most important issues regarding whichwe need clarity and decisions… The longer we put off those decisions the harderit will be to make and implement them in the future," Ergma said.

Estonia has already signed on as a partner in a pan-Baltic project to build a newnuclear power plant in Lithuaniato replace the Soviet-era plant at Ignalina, which is slated to shut down atthe end of the year.

The project has run been held up by political maneuveringbetween the four members of the project 's Lithuania,Latvia, Estoniaand Poland.Ergma said Estoniashould learn from the prolonged project.

"Let the Lithuaniancase be a warning to us…A lack of reasonable alternatives may place Lithuaniain quite a complicated situation in the coming years," she said.