WRITTEN QUESTION E-3163/02

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE-DE)and Christian Rovsing (PPE-DE) to the Council

(5 November 2002)

Subject: Nuclear energy in Bulgaria

We refer to the seminar in the European Parliament at which the future of the Bulgarian nuclear plants at Kozloduy was discussed on 1 October 2002, and to the answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission on 23 September 2002 to Written Question E-2121/02 tabled by Mrs Matikainen-Kallström and Dr Adam.

At the Parliament seminar, the Director of Nuclear Safety of the IAEA presented the report of a recent expert safety mission. This concluded that the safety standards achieved at Kozloduy 3 and 4 had now reached the same level as units of the same vintage operating in the EU.

In his answer to the previous written question Mr Verheugen suggested that the Kozloduy NPP units 3 and 4 continued to harbour a number of deviations from safety requirements, and he said that on these grounds the EU Member States required closure of these units by no later than 2006.

Could the Council give its opinion on the safety report of the IAEA on Kozloduy units 3 and 4? In particular could it confirm which safety requirements it is using as the basis of its judgement (if they are different from those used by the IAEA), and the reasons why, in spite of the conclusions of the IAEA safety report, Kozloduy units 3 and 4 must be closed? In this context could the Council explain the deviations referred to by Mr Verheugen on its behalf?

Reply

(3 March 2003)

The Council, as a preliminary remark, would like to point out that nuclear safety is not of Community but of national competence. The Council further underlines that it is not in the habit of commenting on statements of European Commission members.

Regarding the core of the Honourable MEPs' question, the Council would like to draw the MEPs attention to its reply to Written Question E-1363/02.

It will nevertheless remind them of the global framework of the situation:

- At the Accession Conference at Ministerial level with Bulgaria on 18 November 2002, it was agreed that the chapter energy does not, at this stage, require further negotiations. This agreement was reached also on the basis of Bulgaria's commitment to close units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in 2006. It was also agreed that the EU will mandate the dispatch of an expert mission to Bulgaria as soon as possible before the overall conclusion of the negotiations. Its mandate will be in line with the Report on Nuclear Safety in the Context of Enlargement and the Peer Review Status Report. These experts will monitor the implementation of the recommendations contained in these reports, also giving due respect to the abovementioned closure commitments.

- In this context, the EU General Position in the accession negotiations is recalled concerning the importance of a high level of nuclear safety and environmental protection, as reflected in relevant Council Conclusions. The EU is determined to keep under close review throughout the accession process the issues covered therein. The EU will continue to monitor the situation of nuclear safety in Bulgaria until accession, recalling that responsibility for the safe design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear installations remains incumbent on the State having jurisdiction over it.