Lietuva in brief - 2011-04-14

A resolution on the 220th anniversary of the Constitution of May 3 of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is proposed for adoption in the Seimas, reports ELTA. The draft resolution was registered by the chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs Emanuelis Zingeris, who urges remembering and properly marking “the key events in our history, which relate us with our neighboring countries, Europe and the entire world.” The resolution’s text proposes emphasizing that the Constitution of May 3, the first written Constitution in Europe and the second oldest codified national constitution in the world, united the core values and traditions of Christian Europe, that is, the freedom of religion, the rule of law and separation of powers. It says that the Constitution of May 3 is one of the best achievements of political thought of the then Kingdom of Poland the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; the achievement that had influence not only on the legal development of Poland and Lithuania, but also on the socio-political development of the entire Europe. The fundamental law of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was enacted in May 3, 1791.

On April 6, Lithuania sent a note to Russia as a reply to the latter’s report of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the projected Baltic nuclear power plant in the Kaliningrad region and expressed concern about the failure to comply with international standards, lack of transparency and cooperation in the development of the project of this scale, reports ELTA. The report inadequately assesses such important issues of international environmental impact as emergency preparedness and civil protection, Lithuania’s proximity and its population density within the surveillance zone of the object, and potential radioactive contamination of the Nemunas River and the Baltic Sea. Russia is requested to present a detailed reply to the questions submitted by Lithuania, to present the main EIA documents in the Lithuanian language and provide sufficient time for analyzing them, in accordance with the United Nations’ Espoo Convention.