WRITTEN QUESTION E-1456/03 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Euratom Loans in Member States/non-member States.
Date: 2003-04-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU Member State, EU financing, Euratom loan, European Investment Bank, Romania, Ukraine, financial aid, nuclear power station, nuclear safety, project evaluation

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Official Journal of the European Union

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6.3.2004

(cid:1) the respect of the fundamental principles set out in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
documents concerning the standards applied for the construction, management and operation of the
plant;

(cid:1) the approval of the relevant national nuclear safety authorities.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has financed in the past nuclear projects in Member States, but is not
presently pursuing an active policy in this area and has never considered financing such projects in third
countries.

2.

(a) Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain
public and private projects on the environment (1) (Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive) as
amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (2), and the Espoo Convention on
environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context, apply to certain nuclear projects. Their
public participation provisions would have to be followed in those cases. In other cases, the public
participation process has to be followed as set down in the law of the country of the project. Further,
in case the country has ratified nuclear related international agreements, these would also have to be
followed.

(b)

If domestic law so requires. The full EIA should be made available to the public to the extent that
Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on environmental
law
applicable in third countries so requires.

impact assessment and/or national

(c) The answer to this question depends on the national law of the recipient State.

(d)

In Member States, this would be a requirement; in third countries, domestic law applies.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2004/C 58 E/084)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1456/03

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(29 April 2003)

Subject: Euratom Loans in Member States/non-member States

1.

Have any requests for Euratom loans been received from Member States since 1987?

2. Why have no loans been granted for the construction of facilities in Member States in recent years?

Is the European Investment Bank allowed to lend for nuclear projects, and if so, why isn’t this

3.
institution used to provide financing rather than the Euratom Loan Facility?

4.

Kozloduy 5 and 6:

(a) What is the funding schedule for this project, e.g. how much of the loan has been disbursed, and

when are the other tranches expected?

(b)

Is the closure of units 1-4 at Kozloduy by 2008 one of the conditions for the loans, and will the loan
repayment schedule be accelerated if permanent closure of all four reactors is not undertaken by this
time?

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5.

Khmelnitsky 2 and Rovno 4:

(a) Why is the EUR 688 million included in the column of amounts approved in the Non-Paper (version

1) when only provisional agreement was reached on the project?

(b) Will further economic and safety assessments be required by the Commission for this project were it
ever to be re-proposed? Will this require review by the PHARE and TACIS Nuclear Safety Expert
Group and the European Investment Bank?

(c) What is the current timetable for the further development of the project?

6.

Cernavoda 2:

(a) Can you supply documentation which shows that the funding of Cernavoda 2 by Euratom will have a

direct impact on the increase in nuclear safety in the project?

(b) What is the current timetable for the decision in the European Commission for this project?

(c) Can you supply the approval statements and associated documents from the European Investment

Bank and the PHARE/TACIS Nuclear Safety Expert Group?

Answer given by M. Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(7 July 2003)

1.

No

It would seem that the number of investment projects in the nuclear sector in Member States

2.
decreased markedly through the eighties and nineties.

3.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has financed nuclear projects in Member States in the past, very
often in parallel with Euratom. Such a possibility still remains open. The EIB, however, currently refrains
from financing nuclear projects in non-Member States.

4.

(a) To date EUR 80 million have been disbursed. A further tranche of EUR 25 million is in
preparation for disbursement; the remainder up to EUR 212,5 million will be drawn down up to the
end of the project scheduled for 2006.

(b) The closure of Units 1 to 4 is part of the loan conditionality. Units 1 and 2 are already shut down.
The Commission expects the closure of Units 3 and 4 before the end of 2006. In case of non-respect
of the conditionality the loan could be accelerated.

5.

(a), (b) and (c) The Commission approved in December 2000 a Euratom loan for the K2R4 project,
subject to certain conditions that were fulfilled by the end of 2001. However, when the loan contracts
were to be signed, the Ukrainian government requested the Commission and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development
to continue
discussions on some of the financial conditions. These discussions are still ongoing, and it is difficult
to envisage when they would be completed. They relate to certain financial aspects (cost, electricity
tariff, financial plan, etc.) but not to its technical aspects. Only when an agreement has been reached
on how the project is to be reorganised will it be possible to decide whether any of the studies need to
be modified or updated. In any case, the Commission decision is legally binding and would therefore
require a new Commission decision if it had to be cancelled. That is why the corresponding amount
must remain ‘earmarked’ and is not available for other projects.

(the other main lender to this project)

(EBRD)

Any further economic and safety assessments and/or review by PHARE and TACIS Nuclear Safety
Expert Group and the European Investment Bank would depend on the result of the final agreement
reached with Ukraine.

6.

(a) The PHARE/TACIS Nuclear Expert Group Statement will be provided under separate cover.

(b) The planning foresees that the Commission may be in a position to decide on this loan about summer

2003.

(c) The Experts’ Statement and the EIB Opinion will be provided under separate cover.