ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(79)269
Vol.1979/0105

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(79)269 final
Brussels .17thMay 1979
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TOTHE COUNCIL
Ivi:
UPDATING THE EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM WHICH ACCOMPANIED
THE DRAFT PROPOSAL' FOR ACOUNCIL REGULATION CONCERNING
THE INTRODUCTION "OFACOMMUNITY CONSULTATION
ν,... *>. \ *».
PROCEDURE INRESPECT OFPOWER STATIONS LIKELY
TOAFFECT THE TERRITORY .OFANOTHER MEMBER STATE^
COM (79)269 final

PREFACE
TheCommission referstotheproposalforaCouncilRegulation on
theintroduction ofaCommunity consultation procedure inrespectofpower
stationslikelytoaffecttheterritory ofanotherMemberState(l).
TheCouncilregardedthisproposedregulation aspremature ,lsutagreedto
reconsider itatalaterstage(2).
Inthemeantime amoreurgentneedforconsultation ofMemberStateson
frontiersiteshasdeveloped ,partlybecauseexistingbilateral consultation
between MemberStateshasinsomecasesprovedinadequate ,andpartlybecause
publicsensitivity ontheenvironmental aspectsofpowerplantshasincreased .
TheCommission nowconsiders thaturgentconsideration ofthismatterbythe
Councilisnecessary .Tothisendthepresentcommunication amplifies and
updatesthebackground statement whichaccompanied COM(76)576final.
ThedraftCouncilresolution ,concerning consultation atCommunity level
onthesitingofpowerstations (l),whichtheCommission hadproposedat
thesametimeastheaboveRegulation ,wasadoptedonthe20November 1978
asaCouncilResolution (3),concerning themutualexchangeofinformation at
Community levelonthesitingofpowerstations .Anexpertgroup,composed
ofrepresentatives oftheMemberStates,wassetupintheframework ofthe
EnergyCommittee andhasstarteditswork.
;
BACKGROUND STATEMENT
1.Inordertoensurethattherequirements forelectrical energyoverthe
nextdecadeinalltheCommunity countries canbemet,certainproblems
mustbesolved,oneofthemostimportant ofwhichatpresentisthe
choiceofsitesforthelocation ofnewelectricity powerstations .Such
sitesmustcomplywithaseriesofeconomic ,technical environmental
protection saidland-use planning parameters .
2.Inthedenselypopulated Community countries thereisageneralscarcity
ofappropriate powerplantsites.Acertainnumberofpowerplantsareor
willalsoinfuturebelocatednearfrontiers oroninternational water
courses.Regarding onlythenuclearpowerplantsthereare33units
(app.25%oftotalnumber)inoperation ,underconstruction orplanned
inadistance upto40kmfromnationalborders;ofthose,15unitsare
locatedatadistancelessthan10kmfromtheborder(seeannexl).
COM(76)576final,dated10December1976.
Councilmeetingon30October1979*
O.J.(78)No.C286,30November1978.

-2-
3.Power stations located near a.frontier oronaninternational water
course mayaffect theterritory ofaState other than the oneunder whose
juridiction thepower station falls .Thefollowing examples illustrate
.»
this peint : ,
t
–radioactive effluents from nuclear power plants under normal andabnormal
operating conditions canaffect theterritory ofaneighbouring State j
–sulphur dioxide emissions from aconventional thermal power station can
increase thelevel ofsulphur intheatmosphere ofaneighbouring State ;
–thermal discharges into theatmosphere caninfluence themicro-climate
(fogformation ,change intherainfall pattern andtemperature )ofa
regional area belonging toanother State ;
–thermal discharges and thedrawing ofwater from international water
courses mayhave repercussions onallthe riparian States downstream
from thepower station ;inthesame waythefavourable effects offlow
regulation which result from theconstruction ofreservoirs andbarrages
forhydro-electric power stations will befelt downstream ;
–thebuilding ofapower station near thefrontier with another State may
beincompatible with aninstallation belonging totheneighbouring
State (e.g. airport ,allegedly dangerous chemical works ,etc.).
4»Article 37of "theEAEC Treaty provides foraCommunity consultation
procedure concerning radioactive effluents from nuclear installations :
each Member State isthus required toprovide theCommission with such
general data relating toanyplan forthedisposal ofradioactive waste
which will make itpossible todetermine whether theimplementation ofsuch
aplan islikely toresult intheradioactive contamination oftheterritory
ofanother Member State .The Commission shall deliver anopinion within
6months ,after consulting agroup ofexperts .
Butthis procedure isnormally done notearlier than inthefinal phase
ofplant construction .OneMember State only hasalawrequiring this
procedure totake place before aconstruction permit isgranted .
5.Atpresent there isnoCommunity consultation onsuch influences which do
notoome under Article 37oftheEAEC Treaty .There arebilateral contacts
between various Member States onfrontier power plants .Inrecent years
such contacts were notalways satisfactory .TheCouncil will bewell aware
that thepublic sensitivity onenvironmental aspects ofpower plants is
increasing andcanbeexpected tocontinue togrow .
■••/•••

-3-
Toensure that Member States aresupplied with adequate information
onthepossible effects that canbecaused bypower stations inneigh­
bouring Member States ,itisproposed tosetupaCommunity consultation
procedure inrespect ofallthose aspects notcovered byArticle 37of
-theEAEC Treaty .
6.Themain elements ofsuch aCommunity consultation procedure should be
asfollows :
–When aMember State considers that thecarrying outofapower station
project ofanother Member State islikely toaffect itsnational
territory ,itshall request theCommission toapply theconsultation
procedure inrespect tothis power station ,
–theMember State ,responsible forthepower station project should then
.provide theCommission with thenecessary data topermit theCommission
toassess thepossible effects across the frontier ,
–with theassistance ofagroup ofexperts from theMember States the
Commission would examine this data anddeliver itsopinion tothe
Member States concerned .
7.Incomparison with abi–ormultilateral procedure orcase bycase contacts
between thecountries concerned ,aCommunity procedure
–gives aguarantee ofimpartiality andensures themaintenance ofa
uniform level ofassessment throughout theCommunity ,whilst taking
account ofthelocal particularities ofeach site ,
–islikely toincrease theconfidence offrontier populations inelec­
tricity generating stations ,
–allows advantage tobetaken ofexperience gained inthetreatment of
similar cases inother Community regions ,
–canbeofservice totheMember States ,incases where -thetechnical
problems arecomplex andwhere theMember States would welcome the
provision offurther expertise ,
–cancontribute totheresolution ofdivergent views between Member States
onaparticular project ,
–ismore effective than anad-hoo mult i–lateral dialogue inthecase of
power station siting oninternational waters ,
•••/•••

–constitutes agoodpointofdeparture forthenegotiation ofagreements
onadhesion totheprocedure withthirdcountries "bordering onthe
Community .•
!
8..Inviewoftheaboveconsiderations ,theCommission invitestheCouncil
toreconsider theproposed regulation concerning theintroduction ofa
Community consultation procedure inrespectofpowerstationslikelyto
affecttheterritory ofanotherMemberState(COM(76)576final)andto
reachadecision uponitassoonaspossible .

NTTGTiEAR POWERPLANTSINTHECOMMUNITY
LOCATED NEARFRONTIERS ORONINTERNATIONAL WATERS..
InService Underconstruction ProjectDistance
fromthe
;frontier
■(kms).•» - .
*."
■Site 'r
''stType-Number
of;
unitsUnit
capacity
(MWenet;Kuraber =
of
unitsUnit
capacity
(MHenet)
èNumber
of
unitsUnit
capacity
(MWenet]Neigh-
bourini
countrWater
course
FRANCE .•'/'..
Chooz,SEÎTA".
Fessenheim 1,21"' •-
Fessenheim 3»'4/'-•PHR
ÎWR
FrfR.•1
2305
890
-2 905Β
SS7
2
0Maas
Rhine
iGravelines1,*2.3v4v;;.,•
5»6•■~FrfR 4'
»925
2 925}*.30
«North
Sea
Cattenora 1.2 .
.'· · ·.*
-\ 'PWR
t.2 1300 L
D10
13/Mosel
I •
NETHERLANDS
IBorssele •. ;\
- \.
Dociewaard
I •* .\PHR
BWR .\
1
1'450
52■B
D20
25

1
NUCLEAR POWERFLAM'SINTHECOMMUNITY
LOCATED NEARFRONTIERS ORONINTERNAT IONALWATERS
SiteTypaInService
Nuraber
of
unitsUnit
capacity
(Menet)Underconstruction
Number;
of
unitsUnit
capacity
(Milenet)Project
Number
.of
unitsUnit
capacity
(MWenet)Neigh-
bouring
countryDistance
fromthe
frontier
(kms)
EELGIUM
BR3-Hol
Doel1,2
Doel3•
Doel4
Tihange 1
Tihange 2
Tihange 31
2
3PWR
FrfR
PWR
™r1
210
392
8801
1
1
1897
980
902
980NL
NL
NL10
5
40
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OPGERMANY
LingenKXXII)
AVRJiïlich
kv:l)..kxsS1
Philippsburg 1
Philippsburg 2
V.'hyl1
KalkarSNR-300
Kalkar SNR2KarlsruheHWR 1
FBR 1
HTR 1
BWR 1
P..R
EsR
PWR
FWR
FBR
FBR.51
18
13
240
1300
1
1
1
1864
1281
1284
295
1300F V10
NL 20
NL 23
F 35
F 0
NL 15
Outofservice.

PROPOSAL FORACOUNCIL REGULATION
concerning theintroduction ofaCommunity consultation
procedure inrespectofpowerstationslikelytoaffect
theterritory ofanother MemberState
I
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
andinparticular Article235thereof; •
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropean AtomicEnergyCommunity ,
andinparticular Article203thereof } =•
/
HavingregardtotheProposaloftheCommission (l)j
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliament (2);
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomic andSocialCommittee (3).
.Whereastheestablishment ofacommonenergypolicyisoneoftheobjectives
oftheCommunity }whereasitistheCommission 'stasktoproposethemeasures
tobetakenforthispurpose;
WhereastindertheCouncilResolution of3March1975onenergyandthe
environment itisincumbent ontheCommunities andtheMemberStatestotake
environmental protection requirements intoaccountinallenergypolicy
strategy l?ytakingeffective measures ;
Whereaselectric powerhasanimportant roletoplayinaCommunity energy
policy;.
Whereastheselection ofsitesfornewpowerstations,betheynuclearor•
conventional ,isoneofthemajorproblemsraisedbythedevelopment of
electric power;
(1)COM(76)576final.
(2)OJ(77)C183,1.8.1977.
(3)OJ(77)C114,11.5.1977.

-2-
Whereas power stations ,particularly those "built infrontier regions and
oninternational watercourses orwater surfaces mayaffect thenational
.t
territory ofStates other than those responsible forthestations : «
»
Whereas Community-wide consultation exists only inrespect ofplans for
thedischarge ofradioactive effluents likely tocause radioactive contamina­
tion ofthewaters ,soil orairspace ofanother Member Statej
Whereas itistherefore necessary tointroduce aCommunity consultation
procedure inrespect oftheabovementioned power stations ;
Whereas such aconsultation procedure implies that theMember State on
whose territory theproposed project istobecarried outshall communicate
totheCommission such data astomake possible anassessment ofthelikely
effects which theproject might have ontheterritory ofanother Member
Statej whereas ,tothis end ,thepersons andundertakings involved shall
berequired tocommunicate this data totheMember State onwhose territory
theproposed project istobecarried out ;
Whereas thepowers ofaction required forthis purpose arenotprovided for
bytheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community andtheTreaty ,
establishing theEuropean Atomic Energy Community ;
HIS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION
Article 1
1.The construction ofnewpower stations andtheextension ofexisting
ones likely tohave effects ,notcovered byArticle37oftheTreaty
establishing theEuropean Atomic Energy Community ,ontheterritory of
aMember State other than the oneonwhose territory itisproposed to
carry outtheproject whall besubject toaprocedure ofprior Community
•consultation .•
(

-3-
2.Conventional thermalpowerstationswithanetgenerating capacityof
lessthan200.MWandhydroelectric powerBtations withanetgenerating
I
capacitylepsthan50MWshallheexcluded fromtheconsultation procedure .
Article 2
1.TheCommission shall,onthebasisofcommunications submitted toit
pursuanttoCouncilRegulation (EEC)No1056/72of18May1972onthe
notification totheCommission ofinvestment projects ofinteresttothe
Community inthepetroleum ,naturalgasandelectricity sectors(l),as
amendedbyCouncilRegulation (EEC)No1215/76(2),drawupalistof
newpowerstationprojects ,indicating their'site ,capacity andtype
andshallforwardthislisttotheMemberStatesduringthemonthof
Marcheachyear.
«
Λ
2.TheCommunity consultation procedure envisagedtyArticles 3to6maybe
initiated
-byaMemberStatewhichconsiders thatapowerstationplannedby
another MemberStateislikelytohaveeffectsonitsterritory which
arenotcoveredbyArticle 37oftheEAECTreaty;
–bytheMemberStateonwhoseterritoryitisproposedtobuildthe
powerstation:
–bytheCommission .
Article 3
1*TheCommission shallinformtheMemberStateinquestionthatCommunity
consultation hasbeenrequested inrespectofaproposed powerstation
tobebuiltonitsterritory andshallrequestthatStatetosupplysuch
dataaswillenableanassessment tobemadeofthefollowing points:
(1)(XINoL120,25May1972.
(2)OJNo.L140,28May1976.

-4-
I β ·
–"thepermanent ,temporary orpotential effects ontheatmosphere ,soil ,
surface andground waters oftheother Member StateB ,
–therisks forneighbouring States likely toarise from anymalfunc­
tioning ofthepower station orfrom accidents ,
I
–thepossible interaction between oneormore border power stations
andinstallations ofalltypes ,whether existing ,under construction
orplanned ,inaneighbouring Member State where thehazards andeffects
ontheenvironment andhealth might becumulative .
2.This information shall ,atthelatest ,becommunicated totheCommission
when the competent national authorities receive a,request forpermission
.tobuild orextend apower station .
3.Inorder tofulfil theobligation specified inparagraphs 1and2,the
persons andundertakings concerned arerequired tocommunicate theinfor­
mation referred toinparagraph 1toeach Member State onwhose territory
they intend "tobuild theplanned power station ,inrespect ofwhich Com­
munity consultation hasbeen requested .
Article 4
1.TheCommission shall consult apanel ofindependent experts .
2.Attherequest oftheCommission each Member State shall appoint oneor
icore *experts onwhom theCommission maycall inorder toform thepanel
referred toinparagraph 1.
Article 5
1*TheCommission shall ,after consulting thepanel ofexperts referred to
inArticle 4»deliver anopinion within sixmonths from thedate ofnoti- .
fication ofthe information referred toinArticle 3«

2.TheCommission 'sopinion shall beforwarded totheMember State onwhose
territory theproposed project istobecarried outandtothose Member
States which' have requested that theCommunity consultation procedure be
\
put into -operation .
Article 6
1.IftheCommission considers that theinformation supplied isinsufficient
toenable anassessment tobemade oftheaspects referred toinArticle
3paragraph 1,itshall inform within sixty days theMember State onwhose
territory theproject istobecarried outspecifying theinformation which
islacking .TheMember State concerned shall forward this additional in­
formation totheCommission within thirty days .Upon receipt ofthis
additional information andinanycase onexpiry ofthethirty-day period ,
theCommission shall deliver "anopinion inaccordance with theprocedure
laid down inArticle 5»
2.Ifimportant changes likely toinfluence theassessment ofthevarious
points referred toinArticle 3paragraph 1aremade tothepower station
plans after theCommission hasdelivered itsopinion ,theMember \>tate on
whose territory the 1proposed power station istobebuilt shall berequired
toprovide theCommission with theadditional information assoon asitbe­
comes available .Inaccordance with theprocedure laid down inArticle 4»
theCommission shall deliver asupplementary opinion within three months .
Article 7
This Regulation shall enter into force onemonth after itspublication inthe
Official Journal oftheEuropean Communities . r
This Regulation shall bebinding initsentirety aiiddirectly applicable in
all Member States .