No C 105/44 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 4. 79 
2.4. The Committee thinks that the question of 
decommissioning costs also deserves some attention. 
Although it is aware that initially it will be extremely 
difficult to say anything more than the fact that probable 
decommissioning costs will be limited and will not 
impair the efficiency of nuclear energy in principle, it 
thinks that this question should be examined in greater 
depth in view of the desire for the price of nuclear energy 
to be commensurate with costs. 
2.5. One important point is the link between research 
into the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and 
the building of features into new plants which will make 
them easy to decommission. The Commission has 
Done at Brussels, 29 November 1978. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 7 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 8 May 1978 for an opinion, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
18 October 1978 instructing the Section for Energy and 
Nuclear Questions to draw up an opinion and a report 
on the matter, already referred to this matter. The Committee would 
add that the completion of the programme should not be 
awaited before studying his link. Instead it would be a 
sensible idea to take available knowledge on this subject 
into consideration in the design of new plants while the 
programme is still in progress. 
2.6. The Committee believes that the findings of the 
research and development projects should help towards 
the drafting of Community rules for the 
decommissioning of nuclear power plants, after 
representatives of the Member States and operators and 
workers in the industries in question have been 
consulted. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Fabrizia BADUEL GLORIOSO 
Having regard to the opinion issued by the Section for 
Energy and Nuclear Questions at its 43 rd meeting held 
on 10 November 1978, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 163rd plenary 
session held on 29 and 30 November 1978 (meeting of 
29 November), 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rapporteur, 
Mr Bonety, Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision adopting a research programme for the 
European Atomic Energy Community on safety in thermal water reactors 
(Doc. COM(78) 166 final) 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 146 of 21 June 1978, page 2. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 8 May 1978 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 7 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Atomic Energy Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 163rd 
plenary session held in Brussels on 29 and 30 November 1978. 
26. 4. 79 Official Journal of the 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by a majority with one vote against: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee notes that LWR safety research 
covers a vast field. The greatest possible care is therefore 
needed to ensure that the proposed Community 'indirect' 
programme does not lead to duplication of work. There 
are, in fact, numerous programmes in progress. Many of 
the programmes are inter-connected, and overlapping is 
necessary to make it possible to carry out reciprocal 
checks and thereby avoid needless duplication. Through 
the contracts implementing this 'indirect' programme it 
can be ensured that the research is of real importance to 
the Community and that all Member States have access 
to the findings. 
1.2. The Committee has repeatedly insisted that 
'direct' and 'indirect' action be complementary and kept 
in balance. The Commission seems to have heeded this 
call in its current proposal, but is should indicate what 
practical steps are envisaged to ensure that everything 
goes according to plan during the five years covered by 
the programme. 
1.3. Once the programme has been adopted, the 
ACPM on reactor safety will be responsible for 
monitoring both 'direct' and 'indirect' research and 
development work. Information on the work of Working 
Group No 2 on reactor safety should be supplied to the 
ACPM. The respective roles of these two bodies must be 
clearly defined. 
1.4. The Committee notes that the programme can be 
reviewed at the end of the second year of its operation. In 
the course of this review the programme should, if 
necessary, be modified so as to ensure that maximum 
useful results are obtained at the end of the five-year 
period. 
1.5. The Committee notes that there are no qualified 
workers' representatives either in Working Group Nos 1 
and 2 or on the ACPM. In this connection it would draw 
attention to the following points made in its opinion 
of 29 May 1975 on the communication on the 
technological problems of nuclear safety (Doc. CES 
618/75) : 
'Consultation on research should not take place 
solely in the Advisory Committee on Programmes; European Communities No C 105/45 
qualified and competent experts from the Member 
States and representing all those affected by nuclear 
energy (employers, workers and users) should also 
get together to work out a common viewpoint, as far 
as possible, on such basic matters as safety 
requirements.' 
1.6. The Committee wonders to what extent effective 
dissemination of LWR research and development results 
is compatible with trade secrecy. If the Community 
information network is to be a useful and efficient one, it 
is essential that up-to-date and relevant material be fed 
into it. It is interesting to note in this connection that 
steps have been taken to ensure that trade secrecy does 
not hamper the circulation of information. The contracts 
make provision for a Community system for the 
exchange of information, free access to research findings 
and periodical progress reports. 
1.7. The Commission states in its proposal that: 
'These theoretical and experimental programmes will 
allow a better understanding and a possible 
reduction of some of these margins in order to enable 
reactors to be safely operated more efficiently.' 
The Commission considers that Community projects 
should be designed: 
'particularly to increase the knowledge in those 
specified areas where more knowledge is required.' 
The Committee takes the view that this work can also 
help to confirm existing knowledge and at all events 
should guarantee the effectiveness of the safety levels 
achieved in thermal water reactors. Furthermore, the 
findings of the planned research programmes should 
promote Community-wide alignment of safety standards 
and rules, which the Committee still considers to be 
highly desirable. In this context the Committee would 
point out that on 28 April 1977 it adopted a study on a 
Community nuclear safety code, which dealt with all 
aspects of nuclear safety. 
1.8. As far as research into the safety of thermal water 
reactors is concerned, the Committee feels that more 
attention should be paid to studying sequences of events 
which, if they become more commonplace, could very 
No C 105/46 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 4. 79 
well have serious consequences (see the studies of 
accidental chain reactors in the Rasmussen report). 
1.9. The Committee approves the proposal as a 
whole. It considers that in the apportionment of funds 
Done at Brussels, 29 November 1978. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 23 August 1978 for an 
opinion, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
18 October 1978 instructing the Section for Agriculture 
to draw up an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to its Rules of Procedure, and in particular 
Article 46 thereof, 
Having regard to its decision of 30 November 1978 to 
appoint Mr Guillaume, rapporteur-general, for drawing among the three subjects account should be taken of the 
specific nature of each, the results of existing 
experiments and the real importance of undertaking 
research in areas still insufficiently investigated, 
especially if more experimental work is proposed. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Fabrizia BADUEL GLORIOSO 
up an opinion on certain particularly urgent points in the 
action programme, notably some proposals on the 
organization of the market in wine products and a 
proposal for a Council Directive on the programme to 
speed up the conversion of certain areas under vines in 
the Charentes departments, 
Having regard to its previous work on the wine sector 
and in particular to its opinion of 13 July 1978 on the 
various Commission proposals on the development of 
the Mediterranean regions of the Community and their 
agricultural problems (Doc. CES 841/78), 
Having regard to the oral report submitted by the 
rapporteur-general, Mr Guillaume, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 163 rd plenary 
session held on 29 and 30 November 1978 (meeting of 
30 November), Opinion on the communication from the Commission to the Council on the action 
programme (1979 to 1985) for the progressive establishment of balance on the market in wine 
(Doc. COM(78) 260 final) 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 209 of 2 September 1978, page 3. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 23 August 1978 the Council referred the abovementioned communication to the 
Economic and Social Committee in accordance with Article 43 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 163rd 
plenary session held in Brussels on 29 and 30 November 1978.