(Bloomberg) -- A visit by European experts to review safety measures at a new nuclear power plant in Belarus this week has been canceled but the country is ready to host them at a later date, its regulator said Wednesday.
The visit to the Astravets station, where the process of coming into service began last month, follows allegations by neighboring Lithuania, a European Union member, of safety issues at the 2,400-megawatt plant. At a summit last week, EU leaders underlined the importance of ensuring the facility meets EU-recognized standards.
Rosatom Corp., the Russian state company building the facility, this week denied there are any safety issues at the plant, asserting that the ups and downs in power levels seen in recent weeks are a normal part of the process of bringing the plant into service. Rosatom declined to comment on the delay Wednesday.
“Belarus remains committed to receive the visit and will provide everything necessary,” said Oleg Sobolev, spokesman for the nuclear regulator, noting that the agency is still waiting for official word from the EU on the fate of the mission, including possible alternative dates. “Belarus is ready to show the experts the nuclear plant and to fulfill all voluntary obligations regarding it.”
The EU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Dec. 16-18 visit to the plant was to be part of an inspection by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group, an independent advisory body, that combined online consultations with the trip to the site. The mission was announced in October and is part of a peer review of Belarus’ plan of actions following stress tests of the plant.
On Monday, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson called for conducting the review “as quickly as possible.” Findings were to be published early next year.
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