20.12.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 346[7 COUNCIL REGULATION (EURATOM) No 1369/2013 of 13 December 2013 on Union support for the nuclear decommissioning assistance programme in Lithuania, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1990/2006 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the 2003 Act of Accession, and in particular Article 56 thereof and Protocol No 4 thereto, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Whereas: According to Protocol No 4 on the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania (*) attached to the 2003 Act of Accession (Protocol No 4), acknowledging in 2004 the readiness of the Union to provide adequate additional Union assistance to the efforts by Lithuania to decom- mission the Ignalina nuclear power plant and high- lighting  this expression of solidarity, Lithuania committed to the closure of unit 1 of the Ignalina nuclear power plant before 2005 and of unit 2 of that plant by 31 December 2009 at the latest, and to the subsequent decommissioning of those units. In line with its obligations, Lithuania shut down both units concerned within the respective deadlines. In line with its obligations under the Accession Treaty and with Union assistance, Lithuania has closed the Ignalina nuclear power plant and made significant progress towards its decommissioning. Further work is necessary in order to continue the progress with the actual decontamination, dismantling, management of spent fuel and radioactive waste operations and to implement the steady process towards the decommis- sioning end state in accordance with the decommis- sioning plan, whilst ensuring that the highest safety standards are applied. Based on the available estimates, completion of decommissioning work will require substantial additional financial resources. Recognising that the premature shutdown and consequent decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant with two 1500 MW RBMK type reactor units inherited from the Soviet Union is of an unprece- dented nature and represents for Lithuania an exceptional financial burden not commensurate with the size and () OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 944. economic strength of the country, Protocol No 4 states that the Union assistance under the Ignalina programme will be seamlessly continued and extended beyond 2006, for the period of next financial perspectives. The Union has committed to assist Lithuania in addressing the exceptional financial burden imposed by the decommissioning process. Since the pre-accession period, Lithuania has received substantial financial support from the Union, notably through the Ignalina programme established for the period 2007 - 2013. The Union financial support under that programme will end in 2013. Acknowledging the Union’s commitment under Protocol No. 4 and following the request for further funding from Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia, provision has been made in the Commission proposal for the next multi- annual financial framework for the period 2014-2020: ‘A Budget for Europe 2020’ for an amount of EUR 700 million from the general budget of the Union for nuclear safety and decommissioning. From this, the amount of EUR 500 million in 2011 prices which is approximately EUR 553 million in current prices, is foreseen for a new programme to further support the decommissioning of the Bohunice V1 units 1 and 2, the Ignalina units 1 and 2 and the Kozloduy units 1 to 4 for the period from 2014 to 2020. The amount of the appropriations allocated to the Kozloduy, Ignalina and Bohunice programmes, as well as the programming period and the distribution of funds amongst those programmes may be reviewed based on the results of the mid-term and the final evaluation reports. The support pursuant to this Regulation should ensure the seamless continuation of decommissioning and concentrate on measures to implement the steady process towards the decommissioning end state, whilst ensuring that the highest safety standards are applied, as such measures bring the greatest Union added value, while the ultimate responsibility for nuclear safety remains with the Member State concerned. This Regu- lation does not prejudge the outcome of any future State aid procedures that may be undertaken in accordance with Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Func- tioning of the European Union (TFEU).