WRITTEN QUESTION E-4078/00 by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission. EU aid to enhance the safety of nuclear reactors.
Date: 2001-01-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU aid, EU financial instrument, Lithuania, Slovakia, decommissioning of power stations, nuclear reactor, nuclear safety

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Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

4. The Union needs to find ways of making the growing of oil crops for biofuel purposes more
attractive. Apart from its impact on the greenhouse gas effect, each tonne of biofuel produced gives
as a by-product two tonnes of oilcake (sunflower or rape).

5. As part of environmental measures and in order to curb the trend towards single cereal crop farming
in some regions, incentives for diversified rotation, more open than the current agri-environmental
measure for sunflowers, should be introduced.

6.

Finally, the Community must provide a safety net for European producers of oilseeds and protein
crops in the form of a price guarantee comparable to that granted to American soya producers.

Reply

(7 May 2001)

The Council is aware of the very great importance of increasing production of feed proteins both in order
to respond to the recent suspension of the use of animal meal and ensure the regular supply of
feedingstuffs for farm animals and in order to limit recourse to imports and exposure to genetically
modified organisms.

In its conclusions of December 2000 on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) the Council took note
of the statements by the Commission concerning the production of protein-rich plants and called upon it
speedily to analyse the issue in greater detail and to draw conclusions for the policy currently being
pursued in this sector and for set-aside, including any appropriate proposals.

The Council will not fail to give the highest priority to the examination of those proposals as soon as it
receives them

(2001/C 235 E/063)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4078/00

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission

(10 January 2001)

Subject: EU aid to enhance the safety of nuclear reactors

their
As part of EU economic aid to the countries of Eastern Europe to enhance the safety of
technologically obsolete nuclear reactors, the Commission has decided to make available funds for this
purpose to Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia which are candidate countries for accession to the EU.

What stage have the procedures relating to this economic aid reached? What is the take-up rate of funds
by the countries concerned? On the basis of the funds taken up so far, how does the Commission judge
the effectiveness of these funds in enhancing the safety of the nuclear reactors in the candidate countries?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(8 March 2001)

Under the PHARE financial instrument, the Commission launched (cid:145)Special Programmes to Support the
Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and Consequential Measures in the Energy Sector(cid:146)
established for Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia in 1999 (for Lithuania and Slovakia) and in 2000 (for
Bulgaria), respectively,
in response to the closure commitments undertaken by the three candidate
countries with regard to the Kozloduy 1-4, Ignalina 1-2 and Bohunice V1 NPPs.

The bulk of this financial assistance is being provided via international decommissioning support grant
funds with the European Bank for reconstruction and development (EBRD) taking a role of the Fund
Manager. The three funds were established in June 2000. The first meetings of the Assemblies of
Contributors of the three funds will be convened early 2001, beginning with the Kozloduy and Ignalina

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the beneficiary countries are in the process of agreeing framework grant
Funds. As a prerequisite,
agreements with the fund manager and of finalising the project pipeline. This process is most advanced
in the cases of Bulgaria and Lithuania. The three decommissioning support programmes do not contain
elements to directly enhance the safety of the respective reactors, but aim to support their early closure
and decommissioning.

As mentioned, the three special country programmes were started in response to the beneficiary countries(cid:146)
closure commitments. Following to these political decisions, the project proposals needed to be developed.
Thus, these programmes follow the inverse sequence of other more traditional programmes for which
project proposals are the starting point. As the project pipelines to be submitted to the Assemblies of
Contributors are still in their final phases of preparation, the questions of the Honourable Member on the
take-up rate of the financial assistance cannot yet be answered at this juncture. The programmes will
indirectly be effective in enhancing the safety of nuclear power generation in the candidate countries, as
they will enable the beneficiaries to implement their decisions on the early closure of reactors that have
been qualified as non-upgradeable at reasonable cost.

(2001/C 235 E/064)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4079/00

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Council

(10 January 2001)

Subject: EU aid for enhancing the safety of nuclear reactors

As part of EU economic aid to the countries of Eastern Europe to enhance the safety of
their
technologically obsolete nuclear reactors, the Commission has decided to make available funds for this
purpose to Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia which are candidate countries for accession to the EU.

What stage have the procedures relating to this economic aid reached? What is the take-up rate of funds
by the countries concerned? On the basis of the funds taken up so far, how does the Council judge the
effectiveness of these funds in enhancing the safety of the nuclear reactors in the candidate countries?

Reply

(14 May 2001)

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

The Council has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to assisting candidate countries in improving
nuclear safety and developing medium and long-term energy strategies for the replacement of the less safe
nuclear power reactors. In that perspective, the Council emphasises that for the countries which 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, consistent with the priorities contained in the
Accession Partnerships with the relevant countries.

EU assistance is being made available both through the PHARE programme and Euratom loans in
a comprehensive strategy to support the candidate States(cid:146) efforts in the decommissioning process and to
upgrade safety levels and modernise reactors that will continue their operation.

Beyond that, pursuant
to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 and
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1628/94 of 4 July 1994, the European Commission is responsible for
the requisite implementing measures under the PHARE programme. As indicated in the Commission