Lithuania ready for Plan B in event of low referendum turnout

Date: 30/04/03

By David Cronin

LITHUANIA will probably call a second vote on EU membership if a low turnout invalidates its referendum this month, Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis has said.

At least 50 of the electorate must take part in the 10-11 May poll for it to be binding. Slovakia and Poland have a similar rule.

There is anxiety in all three countries following the Hungarian referendum last month, when only 46 of the electorate bothered to vote (albeit overwhelmingly in favour of membership).

Speaking to European Voice, Valionis confirmed talks were taking place in Vilnius about the prospect of having to hold a second referendum, although he is optimistic this will not be necessary.

Results of a survey conducted by the Vilmorous research agency on 10-13 April indicate that more than 66 of voters will say 'Yes', 13 'No', with 20 still undecided.

The minister said he was pleased that representatives of farmers, who make up 15 of the workforce, were backing a 'Yes' vote, despite having to wait some years before receiving the same level of subsidies as their counterparts in existing member states.

He admitted that some small farmers may struggle to stay in business due to the competition that membership will bring. "The long-term perspective is complicated for little farmers," he said. "For the government, the challenge is to find alternatives in small business and other areas."

Valionis confessed he was "surprised" that the question of the Ignalina power plant, which provides 70 of the country's energy needs, had not been a significant issue during the referendum campaign. The European Commission has demanded the closure of two reactors, which it considers unsafe, at the station by 2009; their decommissioning cost has been estimated at €2.4 billion, the bulk of which will come from EU funds.

"People understand that the decision [on closure] is reasonable," he commented. "The fact that the financing for closure will be coming from the Union is a strong argument."

Günter Verheugen, the enlargement commissioner, appealed to Lithuanians to vote in the referendum, during a visit to Vilnius last week. The German was treated to a trip in a plane piloted by President Rolandas Paksas during his stay. "No other candidate state leader was able to present himself in this way," Verheugen quipped.

Meanwhile, Latvia's chief negotiator with the EU has argued his country will be one of the biggest net recipients on a per capita basis once it joins the Union (polling day: 20 September). During the first three years of membership, Latvia's net gain will be €832 million claimed Andris Kesteris.

"Of the ten candidate countries, Latvia's GDP indicator is the lowest, so we will receive more aid," he added.

Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has launched a thinly-veiled attack against his country's President, Vaclav Klaus. Without mentioning him by name, Svoboda took issue with Klaus's recent claim that the country will lose some of its sovereignty after joining the Union. Svoboda said this was tantamount to urging a 'No' vote. (Klaus, who is perceived as a eurosceptic, previously urged support for EU membership in the Czech poll on 15-16 June poll.)

In neighbouring Slovakia, Deputy Prime Minister Pál Csáky has hit back at critics who have accused him of a lacklustre campaign for a 'Yes' vote on 16-17 May. Using a football analogy, he retorted: "Why should I lose sleep if some fans go to an empty stadium at 3.30pm and start shouting that the captain should be changed because no goal has been scored, when the match doesn't start till 4.30pm?"

Lithuania will probably call a second vote on European Union membership if a low turnout invalidates its referendum this month, Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis has said.