WRITTEN QUESTION E-1363/02

by Geoffrey Van Orden (PPE-DE) to the Council

(14 May 2002)

Subject: The future of Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria

What objections, if any, do Member States have to the prolongation until 2009 of the life of Units 3 and 4 of the Bulgarian nuclear power plant at Kozloduy, given the recent major investment to enhance the safety of these units and their importance to the Bulgarian economy?

Reply

(30 September 2002)

The EU has highlighted the importance of high standards of nuclear safety and of a high level of environmental protection, as reflected in the relevant Council conclusions, from the outset of the accession negotiations with all the candidate countries by inscribing this objective in its General Negotiating Position.

The Council has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to assist candidate countries to improve nuclear safety and to develop medium and long-term energy strategies for the replacement of the less safe nuclear power reactors. In this perspective and consistent with the priorities contained in the Accession Partnerships with the relevant countries, the Council emphasises that for the countries which, like Bulgaria, operate reactors that cannot be upgraded to internationally accepted levels of safety at a reasonable cost, earliest practicable closure of those reactors should be provided for.

In summer last year, the Council produced a report on Nuclear Safety in the Context of Enlargement, where it defined more precisely what the candidate countries, including Bulgaria, are expected to accomplish to reach a high level of nuclear safety. In response, Bulgaria accepted the recommendations contained in this report, including on the definitive closure of units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant at the earliest possible dates, in agreement with the understanding signed with the European Commission on 29 November 1999. Regarding these units and the relevant closure commitments, however, due to the deficiencies of the original design and the delayed implementation of the upgrading programme, there remain significant deviations from safety

requirements and practices for light water reactors of the same vintage in operation in the EU. This state of affairs reinforces the need to closely monitor the closure commitments and to give special attention during the remaining operation time to measures aimed at ensuring a high level of operational safety. Bulgaria committed itself to definitely close down units 1 and 2 before the year 2003, and to decide on the occasion of the updating of the energy strategy which will be completed in 2002, the dates of the definitive closure of units 3 and 4, which will be before the originally envisaged closure dates of 2008 and 2010 respectively. In this context, the EU underlined its understanding that the closure of units 3 and 4 will take place in 2006 at the latest. Indeed for units 3-4, it is only by the early and satisfactory completion of the planned upgrading programme that the existing deviations from safety requirements and practices widely applied within the EU can be limited to such an extent that the continued operation of units 3 and 4 for a limited time, with firm closure commitments, could be justified from the point of view of the Council Working Party on Nuclear Safety.

The EU will continue to monitor the situation of nuclear safety in Bulgaria until accession. To this end a peer review mechanism has been set up under the auspices of the Council. The review will be finalised in time to permit an overall evaluation of Bulgaria's situation before the conclusion of the accession negotiations with Bulgaria. To sum up, the Council stresses the safety aspects of the closure commitments, the need for their timely implementation and to monitor them closely.