WRITTEN QUESTION P-0397/02 by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) to the Commission. Shutting down of the high-flux reactor at Petten, the Netherlands.
Date: 2002-02-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Netherlands, nuclear accident, nuclear chemistry, nuclear medicine, nuclear safety, security of supply

29.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 205 E/131

Moreover, Article 87 §1 of the EC Treaty only prohibits State aids insofar as they affect competition and
if any, grants to public service
trade between Member States.
is questionable to what extent,
organisations having a strictly local activity may affect
In addition,
according to the Commission Regulation (EC) No 69/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of
Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid (2), aid measures are deemed not to meet all the
criteria of Article 87 §1 of the EC Treaty, if they don’t exceed € 100 000 over a period of three years.

trade between Member States.

It

2.
The European Court of Justice has on 7 December 2000 in the case C-94/99 (Arge Gewässerschutz
vs. Bundesministerium fûr land und Forstwirtschaft) expressed its opinion on the participation of tenderers
that receive public subsidies in a procedure for the award of public service contracts.

According to the Court it is not against the principle of equal treatment that contracting authorities allow
bodies which receive subsidies enabling them to submit tenders at prices appreciably lower than those of
the other, unsubsidised, tenderers, to take part in a procedure for the award of a public procurement
contract. The Court concluded that if the Community legislature had intended to require contracting
authorities to exclude tenderers that receive public subsidies, it would have stated this explicitly. The Court
further concludes that only in certain specific circumstances, e.g. when the subsidy received has been
incompatible with the EC Treaty and the obligation to repay would threaten the financial well-being of the
tenderer, the contracting authorities may take into account the existence of subsidies, and in particular of
aid incompatible with the EC Treaty, in order, where appropriate, to exclude tenderers in receipt of such
aid.

3.
As far as public procurement is concerned, the directives oblige the Member State only above a
certain threshold which is dependent on the applicable directive. In every public procurement procedure
though, including also those that remain below the thresholds, the fundamental rules of the EC Treaty will
have to be complied with, in general, and the principle of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality
in particular. Contracting authorities, as individuals within the Community, have also to obey any
legislation deriving from the EC Treaty and subsequent implementing rules including Council Directive
95/29/EC of 29 June 1995 amending Directive 90/628/EEC concerning the protection of animals during
transport.

Surveillance of proper application of Community law by Member States is the duty of the Commission
under article 211 of the EC Treaty. This is carried on in different ways, e.g. by own-initiative investigations
or based on complaints filed in by companies or individuals.

Judgement of the Court of 22 November 2001, Ferring SA and ACOSS, Case C-53/00.

(1)
(2) OJ L 10, 13.1.2001.

(2002/C 205 E/140)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0397/02

by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) to the Commission

(11 February 2002)

Subject: Shutting down of the high-flux reactor at Petten, the Netherlands

Is the Commission aware of the safety problems which have resulted in the high-flux reactor in Petten
being temporarily shut down?

Is it aware of the failure to comply with the requisite safety provisions? If so, what does the Commission
intend doing in order to guarantee optimum safety in the future?

Is there a danger that Europe will run short of radioisotopes now that the reactor has been shut down? If
so, how does the Commission intend to ensure that cancer patients who are dependent on Petten will
receive proper treatment?

C 205 E/132

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(12 March 2002)

On 1 February 2002 a local newspaper article highlighted the existence of a ‘crack’ (in fact an internal
welding anomaly) in the High Flux Reactor (HFR). This has existed since the current reactor vessel was
installed in 1984.
It has been fully documented to the regulatory authorities. The ‘crack’ has been
monitored and measured continually over the years during ‘In Service Inspection’, and in August 2001 the
results of an inspection and measurement of this internal ‘crack’ led to public concern that the ‘crack’
might have grown. The scientific experts who carried out the tests and the Nuclear Research and
Consultancy Group (NRG) indicated that the apparent growth was explained by a change of instrument
used in the measurement and that it posed no danger to safety. After discussion and review of the
technical details of the measurements, the Dutch Safety Authorities (KFD-Kern Fysische Dienst) allowed the
reactor to continue operation but requested a further inspection in summer 2002.

In response to allegations made in 2001 by a staff member of NRG, the Dutch company operating the
HFR, the Dutch licensing authority launched an investigation into the safety and the functioning of the
High Flux Reactor. The Commission as a license holder fully co-operated in this investigation. The
investigation concluded that while the High Flux Reactor management had fully respected the license
conditions, there had been inconsistencies between the operating instructions and the technical safety
specifications applied by NRG, leading to different interpretations of how to apply some procedures. In the
light of
the Commission expressed to the Dutch authorities and NRG the view that
improvements in the safety culture of the HFR operation were possible and desirable.

the above,

At the request of the Joint Research Center (JRC), the International Atomic Energy Agency of Vienna
(IAEA) has accepted to perform an audit on the safety culture. The audit has started on 13 February 2002.
The expert panel of the IAEA, conducting this audit, will report directly to the Commission through the
Institute of Energy of the JRC.

In the light of the latest developments, the Commission has recommended that the reactor be shut down
temporarily to permit re-measurement of the ‘crack’ (the internal welding anomaly). The shutdown period
will also be used to accelerate the implementation of training and other measures to enhance the safety
culture.

In agreement with the KFD, it has been decided to keep the HFR in operation until the end of the current
cycle (18 February 2002) in order to minimise the risk of disruption to the short term supply of medical
radioisotopes used for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This should allow radioisotope producers to
find alternative supplies.
the European
radioisotopes producers and European research reactors association foreseen in the coming days to
negotiate contingency schedules with reactor operators for the period February and March 2002.

the Commission welcomes the meeting of

In that context,

(2002/C 205 E/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0400/02

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: The myth of Icarus and European cultural policy

(22 February 2002)

Much to the displeasure of the inhabitants of Ikaria and public opinion in general
in Greece, British
director Peter Greenaway’s forthcoming production of ‘Icarus’ makes no mention of the island where,
according to the ancient myth, Icarus fell to earth and is buried.

Moreover, the fact that the production is funded by the Cultural Olympiad is causing concern and
misgivings about the content and the aims of cultural policy and its ability to protect and promote the
specific cultural heritage of nations.

is the extent of

What
in the Cultural Olympiad
programmes? What is the Council’s view of the circumstance described above and how does it intend to
react?

the Union’s financial and political

involvement