WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2955/97 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Possible theft of reactor-grade plutonium by criminals
Date: 1997-09-17
Institutions: European Parliament, MCKENNA
Subjects: International Atomic Energy Agency, arms control, nuclear safety, nuclear weapon, plutonium, theft

C 134/42

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30. 4. 98

(98/C 134/49)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2948/97

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(17 September 1997)

Subject: Danger of overfishing off the coast of Africa

Is the Commission aware of reports in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant of 31 July 1997 (based on reports in
The Guardian)accusing the European Union of contributing to overfishing of the waters off the coast of West
Africa by means of fisheries agreements with countries in West Africa?

With which West African coastal countries has the Union already concluded fisheries agreements, and what is
done  to  ensure  that  fishing  is  sustainable  and  does  not  damage  the  local/regional  fisheries  of  the  relevant
countries themselves?

With  which  West  African  coastal  countries  are  fisheries  agreements  being  prepared,  what  are  the  ecological
conditions for these agreements, and how will the Commission protect the local and regional fisheries of the
countries concerned?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(18 November 1997)

The article to which the Honourable Member refers had not come to the Commission(cid:146)s attention, but it is aware
of a wave of comparable criticisms in the European press, to which it has replied with a series of rectifications.

The European fleet cannot be held exclusively responsible for the over-exploitation of African coastal waters,
because  numerous  non-Community  fleets  also  fish  there.  Moreover,  European  vessels  operating  under  the
fisheries  agreements  are  subject  to  some  of  the  most  restrictive  and  binding  conditions.  Indeed,  all  the
agreements  are  based  on  compliance  with  the  relevant  provisions  of  the  Law  of  the  Sea  and  the  other
international  commitments  entered  into  by  the  European  Union  for  the  rational  and,  above  all,  sustainable
management of fisheries resources. This is why agreements provide not only for a battery of measures laying
down the conditions under which European vessels can operate, but also for financial and other resources to
enable the coastal state to ensure their implementation.

The  West  African  countries  with  which  the  Community  has  concluded  fishing  agreements  are:  Morocco,
Mauritania, Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Co(cid:136)te d(cid:146)Ivoire, Sao Tome & Prin-
cipe, Equatorial Guinea and Angola.

As regards future agreements, the Commission has entered into exploratory talks with Namibia and Gabon. The
Commission will continue to promote responsible fishing which also takes account of the mutual interests of
both parties and particularly of the national fleets of these coastal states.

(98/C 134/50)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2955/97

by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission

(17 September 1997)

Subject: Possible theft of reactor-grade plutonium by criminals

A 1993 classified report on the misuse of plutonium by criminal elements was recently made public under the
US Freedom of Information Act. The report (cid:145)Extraction and Utility of Reactor-Grade Plutonium for Weapons(cid:146),
was based on briefings given by experts from weapons centres at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore.

According to the report, the probability of criminal elements making a nuclear weapon is low, but there is (cid:145)an
appreciable risk(cid:146) because (cid:145)the consequences are so grave(cid:146). If civil reactor-grade plutonium finds its way into the
hands  of  criminal  elements,  a  weapon  of  at  least  one  kiloton  could  be  produced  (cid:145)with  modest  facilities  and
equipment(cid:146).

One major concern addressed in the report is that plutonium could be stolen from facilities which store plutonium
or plutoniumoxide, including mixed oxide (MOX) fuel.