EN Official Journal of the European Union C 166/1

Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on ‘The consequences of the natural catastrophes in Japan and the consequences of the nuclear disaster: lessons for the European Union’

2011/C 166/01

The Committee of the Regions and the regional and local authorities represented there:

1. would like to express their condolences and deepest sympathy and solidarity with the people of Japan and all those affected by the earthquake, the tsunami, the nuclear power plant incidents and the consequences of these events;

2. express their willingness to provide assistance to the people and the regional and local authorities in the affected areas of Japan, and call on the European Commission to offer, and where necessary coordinate, appropriate aid measures in accordance with the needs and the sensitivities of the Japanese people;

3. invite the Japanese authorities to be as transparent as possible and to disclose up to date information on the consequences of the nuclear disaster which may have serious repercussions in other part of the globe; reaffirm their willingness to provide assistance and technical expertise;

4. call on their members to show solidarity in the framework of existing partnerships and cooperation arrangements with Japanese regional and local authorities, and to carry out effective aid projects on the ground wherever possible, making use of existing contacts;

5. stress that the events in Japan remind us of the important front-line role of regional and local authorities when it comes to natural or man-made disasters, and that also in the European Union there must be a renewed discussion about central safety issues involving all levels of government;

6. underline in this context the principles of solidarity, cooperation, coordination and support in connection with disaster prevention and response, and support the proposal for an EU civil protection system (1) and in particular the planned strengthening of the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC); recalls the European Commission's commitment that Europe's disaster response capacity should be strengthened on the basis of the units and forces made available by Member States and call on the European Commission, in the framework of its supporting powers, to propose appropriate measures to improve the exchange of indispensible operating information, not only at national but also at regional and local level;

7. support the European Commission's initiative to launch without delay a stringent review of all nuclear power plants in the EU by independent experts in accordance with strict common safety standards and to promote the further development of such common standards not only for nuclear safety, but also for emergency management and civil protection; are convinced that these reviews should be compulsory and therefore regret the fact that the March meeting of the European Council did not follow this suggestion;

8. therefore, urge Member States to agree on common criteria and an immediate launch of comprehensive risk and safety assessments (‘stress tests’) for existing and future plants including their impact on bordering Member States and Regions; stress that the countries outside the European Union, where nuclear facilities exist or are being planned, must also be involved in this process and the necessary provisions must be made to further improve existing cross-border information mechanisms about safety related issues regarding nuclear installations and the particular cross-border dimension of crisis management and disaster relief; underlines that such ‘stress tests’ should be included in future accession negotiations and that the involvement of neighbouring countries or regions in the process of authorising nuclear installations should be optimised, calls finally for any nuclear installation which does not pass such stress-tests to be shut down;

9. call for an immediate review of the implementation status of Council Directive 2009/71/EURATOM of 25 June 2009 establishing a Community framework for the safety of nuclear installations, and if appropriate its revision;

9a. call on the European Commission to come forward with proposals for adequate requirements for the insurance of nuclear installations so that they are adequately covered for the financial risks of a reactor incident which may lead to the release of radioactive material to the environment;

10. endorse high safety standards outlined in the proposal for a Council Directive on the management of nuclear waste 2010/0306(NLE) to ensure safe disposal of highly radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, ask to involve also the local and regional authorities concerned;

11. declare their willingness, in close cooperation with the competent national and European bodies, to review those areas falling within their sphere of responsibility (for example in connection with authorisation procedures, emergency response plans etc.), and where appropriate to update these in the light of the lessons learnt from the Japanese disaster and the most recent research findings;

12. call upon the European Commission to increase financial support for the cooperation with third countries in the field of prevention of and training for natural and man-made disasters;

13. call for the measures needed to achieve energy savings, significant increases in energy efficiency and the conversion of the European Union's energy supply to safe, sustainable and affordable renewable energy sources to be promoted with even greater determination; in particular are committed to the so-called ‘Third Industrial Revolution’, or Democratisation of Energy Production, which will ensure that in the future energy production, storage and distribution will be decentralised, thus providing energy security and a renewable energy economy and giving citizens and local and regional authorities direct influence. Are committed to support the necessary changes to the infrastructure to create open and smart power grids and call on the European Commission to bring together local and regional authorities and relevant stakeholders as soon as possible to kick-start the transformation of Europe's energy production;

14. call for an open and fair communication policy of all nuclear energy providers and the setting-up of effective partnerships between these providers, the Member States and the regional and local authorities;

14a. advocate greater decentralisation of energy production and distribution, particularly in the renewable energy sector. This would strengthen production at local and regional level, shorten the distance between producers and consumers, reduce dependency on large global energy suppliers, increase decentralised wealth creation and, above all, improve security of energy supply in the event of disasters; calls on the European Commission, not least keeping in mind the EU-2020 strategy, to provide greater support to local and regional authorities in their already considerable efforts in the area of renewable energy and towards achieving extensive self-sufficiency in energy;

15. taking into account the climate change objectives and the fact that 30 % of the electricity produced in the EU currently comes from nuclear power, believe that a realistic reflection is needed with respect to the EU's future energy mix; therefore call on the European Commission to push for renewable and more efficient forms of energy, keeping as an objective the need to strengthen energy independence in Europe, and the progressive reduction of nuclear energy dependency;

16. instruct the CoR President to submit this resolution to the President of the European Council, the Hungarian Presidency of the EU, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee as well as to the competent Japanese authorities.

Brussels, 1 April 2011. The President of the Committee of the Regions Mercedes BRESSO

(1) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: Towards a stronger European disaster response: the role of civil protection and humanitarian assistance, COM(2010) 600 final.