EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/276

(2004/C 88 E/0280)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1038/04

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 March 2004)

Subject: Proposed directive to inspect Sellafield nuclear facilities

Can the Commission confirm:

1. That they will be pressing forth with a directive to ensure full disclosure by the British authorities (BNFL) of the amount of radioactive waste currently being stored at its facilities in Sellafield, Cumbria?

2. That the necessary access to the site will be accorded to EU inspectors so that they may personally verify BNFL's statement?

3. That the results of any such inspections will be made available to other Member States that are directly affected by the Sellafield site?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Commission confirms that a Directive based on Article 82 of the Euratom Treaty was adopted on 30 March 2004.

Under Article 82 of the Euratom Treaty, Commission inspectors shall be responsible for obtaining and verifying records referred to in Article 79. They shall report any infringement to the Commission. The Commission may issue a directive calling upon the Member State concerned to take all measures necessary to bring such infringements to an end.

The Commission considers that British Nuclear Fuels plc has infringed Articles 79 and 81 of the Euratom Treaty by not producing and keeping operating records in order to permit accounting for all nuclear material presently stored in pond B30 at Sellafield (UK) and by not enabling Commission inspectors to verify all nuclear material presently stored in pond Β30, due to radiation protection constraints.

The Directive imposes on the United Kingdom the obligation to submit to the Commission, before 1 May 2004, a comprehensive plan in order to bring such infringements to an end. Furthermore, the United Kingdom should present to the Commission every six months a progress report on its implementation. On the basis of these reports and its own verifications, the Commission will assess the compliance of the United Kingdom with the obligations set out in the Directive.

Finally, under Regulation (Euratom) No 3 (1), information acquired by the Community or communicated by Member States under the Euratom Treaty and classified according to a scale of security grading shall be treated as Euratom Classified Information (ECI). Access to and possession of ECI may be granted only to persons who are duly authorised and who, in addition, on account of their duties, have a clear need to be informed of or to receive such information.

Nevertheless, since 2001 the Commission has, on a yearly basis, issued a report to Parliament and Council on the operation of Euratom Safeguards (2), which describes the role and the legal basis of Euratom Safeguards and reports on its activities for the period considered. It also provides information on current developments and includes an outlook for the future.

In the coming reports, a systematic reference to progress made by the UK authorities on the implementation of the above-mentioned directive will be made.

(1) Regulation No 3 implementing Article 24 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, OJ,6.10.1958.

(2) Available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/nuclear/safeguards/index_en.htm