Lithuania offers carve-outs to EU sceptics in push for Russia nuclear sanctions

A new Lithuanian bid to push the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia's nuclear energy industry includes proposed exemptions for Hungary and a two-year period to phase out existing contracts, according to a document obtained by Reuters.

A new Lithuanian bid to push the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia's nuclear energy industry includes proposed exemptions for Hungary and a two-year period to phase out existing contracts, according to a document obtained by Reuters. Unlike earlier proposals by the EU's Russia hawks to blacklist the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, the latest proposal from Vilnius includes a more nuanced approach, an apparent attempt to win over sceptics in Budapest and elsewhere.

"It is proposed to introduce individual restrictive measures for Rosatom," says the policy proposal dated March 17, which has not been released publicly. "In addition, it is appropriate to introduce a derogation on the basis of which operations, contracts or other agreements concluded with Rosatom could be still executed for a fixed period of time allowing European Union member states to complete the execution of these contracts or other agreements."

The document proposed the time to be set at two years.