Little Green Lithuanians Strike Back

Remember this post from a few weeks ago? Well, the Lithuanians are asking just what I'd be asking in their position: "What now?"

Lithuania, which has pledged to close its Chernobyl-type Ignalina nuclear power plant by 2010, will seek international help to build and finance a new nuclear reactor, Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas said Tuesday.

"The government wants Lithuania to remain a country with nuclear energy, but we do not have the financial means to build the new reactor," Brazauskas told journalists.

"It would cost some 2 billion euros, a fantastic price for us, so we should work on this issue and seek advice," Brazauskas said after a government meeting on nuclear energy issues.

The prime minister said Lithuania would seek advice from European Union (EU) energy companies and international experts further afield.

"If they show some interest, then we could consider building a new reactor," Brazauskas said.

If you ask me, European Union membership isn't paying off quite yet for Lithuania.