Europe: Nuclear confusion

NUCLEAR energy is, to its supporters, essential to bridge the growing power supply gap in central, southern and eastern Europe. But project developments across the region are struggling to gain momentum. In April, the prime ministers of Poland and Estonia publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with Lithuania over the slow pace of development of the country's new nuclear power plant. The three Baltic states plus Poland agreed in 2006 jointly to build the Visaginas plant to replace the existing Ignalina facility, which Lithuania agreed to shut down in 2010 as part of its deal to join the EU in 2004. But since 2006, disagreements about the share of power that each country would receive from t