WRITTEN QUESTION No. 610/98 by Esko SEPPÄNEN to the Commission. Chernobyl nuclear power station and funding of new nuclear power stations in Ukraine
Date: 1998-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, SEPPAENEN
Subjects: Community loan, EBRD, Ukraine, decommissioning of power stations, nuclear accident, nuclear power station, nuclear reactor, nuclear safety, protocol to an agreement

C 323/54

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

21. 10. 98

Moreover,  funicular  railways  are  not  listed  amongst  those  projects  for  which  an  environmental  impact
assessment  is  obligatory  under  Directive  85/337/EEC  on  the  assessment  of  the  effects  of  certain  public  and
private projects on the environment.

The Commission has asked the Spanish authorities for their assurance that this project will not be detrimental to
the environment.

(1)  OJ C 102, 3.4.1998, p. 51.
(2)  Debates of the European Parliament (March 1997).
(3)  OJ L 103, 25.4.1979. 

(98/C 323/72)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0610/98

by Esko Seppa¤nen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 March 1998)

Subject: Chernobyl nuclear power station and funding of new nuclear power stations in Ukraine

Chernobyl  nuclear  power  station  represents  a  major  hazard  to  the  whole  of  Europe.  It  evidently  remains  in
operation because the EU and the EBRD have not fulfilled all their obligations as regards funding alternative
modes of energy production in Ukraine.

What will the Commission do in this respect and will it fund new, unfinished nuclear power stations in Ukraine
so that Chernobyl can be closed?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 1998)

The  Commission  shares  the  view  expressed  about  the  risk  associated  with  the  continued  operation  of  the
Chernobyl reactors. The closure of the Chernobyl plant by the year 2000 is of prime importance. In this context
the Commission fully supports the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the closure
of Chernobyl by the year 2000 signed between the G7 and Ukraine in December 1995. The implementation of the
MoU has already progressed well. US$ 1 billion (MECU 925) have been mobilized, mostly in the form of loans,
for the supply of fuel, for plant rehabilitation and for energy efficiency measures. $ 500 million (MECU 465) are
mobilized  in  the  form  of  grants  for  the  Chernobyl  plant  decommissioning  and  for  the  sarcophagus.  A
Commission proposal for a Council decision to make a contribution of up to MECU 100 to the new Chernobyl
shelter fund (1) is at present under examination by the Parliament.

On the occasion of the Community-Ukraine summit of 5 September 1997, President Kuchma confirmed again a
clear  link  between  the  closure  of  Chernobyl  and  the  completion  of  the  two  nuclear  reactors  at  Rovno  and
Khmelnitsky.

The Commission agrees in principle to finance up to 50% the Rovno 4 and Khmelnitsky 2 project under the
Euratom loan facility provided that the following conditions are met:

› 

the safety level of the completed reactors correspond to international standards;

› 

the  necessary  complementary  financing  sources,  such  as  from  the  European  bank  for  reconstruction  and
development (EBRD), should become available;

›  Ukraine meets the technical, financial and other conditions which will be laid down in the loan agreement to

be negotiated.

(1)  OJ C 364, 2.12.1997.