Minister of Environment Setting New Priorities in

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 000138

SIPDIS

SECSTATE EUR/PGI FOR BPOMAINVILLE, EUR/NB FOR MGERMANO, AND
OES/ENV

COPENHAGEN FOR LDANDO

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV PGOV ECON EPET TBIO TSPL LH RS
SUBJECT: Minister of Environment Setting New Priorities in
Wake of EU Membership

REF: VILNIUS 93

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET

Summary
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1. (SBU) Ambassador Mull met with Minister of Environment
Arunas Kundrotas on February 8 as part of his tour of the
GoL's new cabinet (refs A and previous). The Ambassador
recalled the extensive bilateral environmental protection
cooperation that has taken place, noted ongoing cooperation
in areas such as environmental science education through
the GLOBE program, and urged support for expanding research
cooperation through the signing of a new science and
technology agreement. Kundrotas confirmed the formative
role U.S. assistance played in shaping the Ministry of
Environment, training ministry staff, and building lasting
bilateral contacts on environmental issues. The Minister
also sees opportunities for partnership on U.S.-EU issues
such as mercury, and hopes for additional technical
assistance/cooperation on GMOs, monitoring, and other
issues. End Summary.

Dust from EU Membership Settling
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2. (SBU) Minister Kundrotas accepted the Ambassador's
observation about the fast pace of environmental reform in
Lithuania, but noted that he hopes that to get back to work
now that EU Membership is a fait accompli. The Minister
said that implementing EU directives over the past few
years had tapped resources that could have been used for
solving local problems. He stated that Lithuania needed to
refocus on domestic priorities again, in part to ensure the
most efficient use of EU structural funds in the
environmental sector. The Ministry is targeting
approximately 100 million Euros per year during 2004-2006
to improve drinking/waste water treatment.(This could be an
investment possibility for U.S. business.) While cities
will start seeing improvements by the end of 2006, smaller
towns will not be reached until 2010.


3. (SBU) The Minister does not foresee any fundamental
changes in the GOL's environmental policy, but was
uncertain whether the parliament would undertake any
initiatives. Kundrotas told us his party (Social
Democrats) is small and there is a "diverse" level of
competence about environmental protection within the
parliament. The Minister noted that meeting new EU
obligations would be a challenge requiring his active role
in moving legislation through the system. He also
questioned the qualifications of his new vice-minister
Rytis Satkauskas to effectively serve in the position.
(Satkauskas, director of the business consulting firm
"Sabelija" is a founding member of the Labor Party, the
upstart group formed by Russian-born businessman Viktor
Uspaskich which controls the most parliamentary seats
within the governing coalition.)

D-6 Oil Drilling, Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant
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4. (SBU) Kundrotas was optimistic about the "D-6" Russian
oil drilling operation off the Lithuanian coast and pointed
out several areas of progress with the Russians. He noted
that two of four key objectives of establishing an
independent monitoring and post-impact assessment of D-6
had been essentially concluded. The Minister further hopes
to develop a risk assessment and rescue plan in the event
of a disaster and to agree on the terms of financial
compensation should a problem occur.


5. (SBU) On discussions to build a new nuclear power plant
(NPP),the Minister cautioned against making a decision
absent all the facts. (The President, Prime Minister, and
other cabinet members have embraced the construction of a
new NPP in anticipation of Ignalina's Reactor 2 closure in
2009). Kundrotas noted that the construction of a new NPP
is not a "yes" or "no" question, but a question of "how",
"what technologies," etc. While the construction project
would certainly seem good for the local communities, the
overall benefits to Lithuania might be less clear, he
mused.

Avenues of Cooperation
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6. (U) Ambassador Mull emphasized that while many of the
assistance programs that provided funding to EPA and other
agencies have concluded, he hoped bilateral cooperation
might continue in a few new areas such as research related
to environmental problem solving. The Minster applauded
the Embassy's effort to re-establish the U.S.-Lithuania
Science and Technology Agreement and mentioned Lithuanian
research strengths in the environmental sector. He offered
his support in moving the agreement through the Ministry of
Finance. The Ambassador also stated his hope to keep the
Cochran Fellowship Program open to Lithuanians and find new
opportunities for U.S. investment. The Minister noted the
importance of training programs such as Cochran, and
indicated his desire that some modes of cooperation and
technical assistance would remain open in the future.

Comment
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7. (SBU) A holdover from the last government, Kundrotas
strikes us as one of the cabinet's most capable members.
We will continue to look for ways to work with him and his
Ministry.

MULL