WRITTEN QUESTION E-2681/00

by Matti Wuori (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(3 August 2000)

Subject: Nuclear safety Temelin power station

Some extremely alarming facts have come to light concerning the safety culture at Temelin nuclear power station. The power station's completion was delayed by nearly ten years on account of technical problems and cost factors affecting the building work, the additional costs arising partly from Western safety standards. The power company CEZ has nonetheless brought forward the commissioning of the power station, inter alia with an eye to the company's future privatisation, and nuclear fuel began to be loaded into the Temelin 1 reactor at the beginning of July 2000.

Independent observers, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Greenpeace, have reported that there are serious technical and safety problems associated with the commissioning of Temelin. At the beginning of July, Greenpeace published internal documents concerning the safety culture at Temelin which give rise to doubts as to how safe the nuclear reactor will be when in use. The documents reveal that, in building the number one reactor, test procedures which accorded with safety standards were not adhered to, that these procedures were altered because of unsatisfactory results and that the management of Temelin resorted to temporary safety solutions. The IAEA meanwhile has criticised the inadequacy of inspections by the Czech nuclear safety authority (SUBJ) this year. According to the IAEA, the SUBJ cannot guarantee that sufficient impartial inspections will be carried out. The CEZ's final assessment of Temelin power station has been declared secret on commercial grounds, and because of this the SUBJ has not allowed Greenpeace to inspect the document in question.

This year the Czech Republic will already be exporting 25 % of its energy production. This being so, virtually the whole of Temelin power station's production capacity will be used to provide electricity for export. At the same time, however, in the EU accession negotiations the Czech Republic is asking for Community rules on the liberalisation of the energy market not to apply to the new Member States before 2007. According to these rules, trade in energy must be based on reciprocity.

Does the Council consider that Temelin power station complies with technical and operational nuclear safety standards applicable in the EU Member States? Can the appropriate authorities in the Czech Republic guarantee that high standards will be adhered to? How is the Council dealing with the issue of nuclear safety in the accession negotiations? What view does the Council take of the possibility of delaying the liberalisation of the energy market in the applicant countries?

Reply

(12 February 2001)

The Council attaches the greatest importance to the objective of a high level of nuclear safety in the context of enlargement, as was clearly stated in December 1998 when the Council adopted its conclusions on nuclear safety in the context of enlargement(1) and subsequently on numerous occasions in European Council conclusions.

The Council is determined, throughout the process of accession, to follow closely the matters covered in those conclusions. It will continue to follow the nuclear safety situation in the Czech Republic and would point out that it is the State which has jurisdiction over a nuclear installation that is responsible for ensuring the safety of the design, construction and operation of that installation. The Czech Republic is invited to continue to provide regular, complete information on the development of the situation in the field of nuclear energy and in particular nuclear safety, especially as regards the Temelin power station.

In this context the Council will give particular attention to examination of the communication which the Commission has just approved on an enhanced nuclear-safety strategy in the countries of central and eastern Europe.

As regards the liberalisation of the energy markets in the applicant countries, it must be stressed that as the situation is different in each applicant country the timetable for the applicant countries' compliance with the acquis communautaire in the energy sector must be looked at on a case-by-case basis. It should also be pointed out that in any case Directives 96/92/EC (Electricity) and 98/30/EC (Gas) provide for liberalisation on a gradual basis.

In any event, the Council has not yet completed its examination of Chapter 14 (Energy) of the acquis that the applicant countries will have to accept.

(1) See 13677/98 (Presse 431-G).