B4-0472, 0475, 0477, 0478, 0484 and 0488/96

Resolution on the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its resolution of 8 April 1987 on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident and on the outline communication from the Commision of the European Communities to the Council on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident (COM(86)0327) and the communication from the Commission of the European Communities to the Council on Community action to be taken in response to the Chernobyl accident (COM(86)0276) ((OJ C 125, 11.5.1987, p. 96.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 8 April 1987 on the problem of contamination of foodstuffs following the Chernobyl disaster ((OJ C 125, 11.5.1987, p. 91.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 8 April 1987 on the reaction of the Community to Chernobyl ((OJ C 125, 11.5.1987, p. 92.)),

- having regard to its opinion of 15 December 1993 on the proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision 77/270 (Euratom) to authorize the Commission to contract Euratom borrowings in order to contribute to the financing required for improving the degree of efficiency and safety of nuclear power stations in certain non-Member countries (COM(92)0467 - C3- 0032/93) ((OJ C 20, 24.1.1994, p. 99.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 15 December 1993 on nuclear safety in the countries of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) ((OJ C 20, 24.1.1994, p. 107.)),

A. whereas, ten years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which caused thousands of deaths by radioactive contamination and which is still having tragic consequences for the health of millions of people - particularly as a result of the increase in the incidence of cancer and leukaemia - and for the state of the environment, the risks of a fresh accident remain, both on the Chernobyl site itself and in all other nuclear power stations,

B. whereas a serious incident occurred in reactor 1 at the Chernobyl nuclear power station on 27 November 1995,

C. greatly concerned by the report by 'Alliance', a consortium responsible for carrying out, within the framework of the TACIS programme, a feasibility study on stabilization of the sarcophagus of block 4 in Chernobyl, whose conclusions concerning the risk of collapse of this sarcophagus are particularly alarming; noting that the costs for the construction of a new sarcophagus are estimated at US $ 1.6 billion over a period of 10 years,

D. aware that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant contributes about 7% to the electricity supply of Ukraine,

E. pointing out that the Ukrainian Government admits that Ukraine is one of the most energy-intensive countries in the world, using at least 3 times the amount of energy per unit of GNP as the European Union,

F. drawing attention to the fact that over the last few years electricity consumption in these countries has fallen by an amount which significantly exceeds nuclear power generation,

G. referring to the International Conference now taking place in Vienna,

H. noting that the G7, Russia and Ukraine will discuss nuclear safety at a special summit in Moscow in April 1996,

I. acknowledging that the European Union has an important role to play in helping the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in their efforts to improve the safety and efficiency of their energy systems,

J. recalling the Memorandum of Understanding in which the G7 promised to help finance a solution to the Chernobyl problem,

1. Emphasizes that 10 years after the Chernobyl disaster, no nuclear power station, either RBMK or VVER 440-230, has yet been shut down, in spite of the opinion of Western experts, and that the working conditions of these installations, far from improving, have in fact deteriorated, since they have become more decrepit and are controlled by personnel lacking training;

2. Calls on the authorities of the countries which are still operating high- risk power stations to decommission them as quickly as possible and to focus, on the one hand, on improving the safety of more recent types of nuclear power station, and, on the other, on developing programmes to save energy and improve energy efficiency,

3. Stresses the need to make available as much financial and technical aid as possible to assist Ukraine in making the destroyed reactor block safe and to contribute to the cleaning up of the contaminated areas, also in Russia and Belarus;

4. Requests the Commission to develop a genuine strategy, in the framework of the PHARE and TACIS programmes, in order to promote energy saving programmes and sustainable energy resources, notably by more efficient utilization of energy and the recourse to less expensive and less dangerous sources of energy;

5. Calls on the Ukrainian Government to comply with the Memorandum of Understanding that it signed with the G7 in Ottawa, which provides for the closure of Chernobyl by the year 2000;

6. Calls for least-cost studies to be made a precondition for the granting of aid;

7. Calls on the Commission to continue the Chernobyl project, which provides medical aid to Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and requests that aid to victims of the disaster be reinforced, as well as support for NGOs participating in this aid;

8. Calls on the Commission to submit to it an assessment of the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on public health, the environment and agriculture in the countries of the European Union;

9. Requests the Commission to inform, as a priority, Parliament's competent committees of the results of the study carried out within the framework of ECHO, the preparation for nuclear disasters in the countries of Eastern Europe and the action it intends to take following these conclusions, not only in regard to these countries, but also in regard to the European Union which would also be affected by another nuclear disaster;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the G7, the CIS and the IAEA.