WRITTEN QUESTION E-2355/03 by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission. Public awareness of natural and man-made hazards.
Date: 2003-07-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Ireland, Member States' contribution, civil defence, consultation procedure, document, natural hazard, public safety

6.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58 E/161

(cid:1) Has the Commission assessed or will it assess what lessons can be learned from the accident on the
role of the regulator and its relationship with the nuclear industry? Did the Commission make any
recommendations for a clear division of
tasks in terms of nuclear safety, civil protection and
independence of the regulator during the nuclear part of the negotiations?

(cid:1) The accident occurred during the cleaning of 30 uranium fuel assemblies using equipment supplied by
Framatome ANP. Has the Commission requested information from Framatome as to what lessons it
has learned from the accident and its impact on similar procedures in Member States?

(cid:1) Has the Commission requested any independent monitoring of the environmental

impact of the

release of radioactive material during the accident?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(9 September 2003)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) undertook an expert review mission to investigate the
10 April 2003 fuel-cleaning incident at the Paks nuclear power plant. The team was composed of nuclear
and radiation safety experts from the IAEA, three Member States (Austria, Finland, United Kingdom),
Canada, Slovakia and the United States of America. The mission started on 10 June 2003 and was
completed by 25 June 2003. The Commission was not part of the mission.

The draft of the findings of the mission and their recommendations has been given to the Hungarian
Atomic Energy Authority inviting factual comments. The final report by the mission was due to be handed
to the Hungarian Government. The Hungarian Government intends to make the final report available to
the public.

On the basis of the current acquis, the Commission is not formally called upon to assess lessons learned
from such incidents in nuclear plants (cid:1) either inside or outside the Union. However, once the report of
the IAEA mission is available it will be carefully examined by the Commission to assess what lessons could
be learned from the incident and the roles of the different parties involved. If it would be useful to hold
bilateral discussions on the subject with any of the parties, the Commission will seek to do so.

Concerning release of radioactive material, in its report on nuclear safety to the Council, the Hungarian
Government gave details of the airborne radioactivity on the day of the incident and for the following 16
days. In its Press Release on its mission, the IAEA noted that, concerning radiation protection, they agreed
with the Paks and Hungarian regulatory authority’s assessment that the annual dose limits for the general
public had not been exceeded as a result of these releases.

(2004/C 58 E/174)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2355/03

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Public awareness of natural and man-made hazards

(16 July 2003)

On 5 February 2003, the Commission issued a working document, ‘Improvement of public awareness and
safety in the face of natural and man-made hazards’, for a meeting of interested stakeholders in this issue
on 28 February 2003.

On 7 May 2003, the Commission issued a list of contributions it had received from Member States,
regional and local authorities, accession countries, NGOs and other institutions by the end of April 2003
in response to its working document.

C 58 E/162

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2004

Could the Commission indicate what representatives the Irish Government sent to the 28 February
meeting, indicate whether it has received a formal contribution from the Irish Government in response to
its working document, and indicate when it intends coming forward with the Communication on this
subject referred to in its working document?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Following the meeting of 28 February 2003, the Commission did indeed assemble the contributions it had
received and compile a list of those who attended the meeting.

Both the list and the contributions have been posted on the website given over to the initiative (http://
www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/civil/prote/consultation_en.htm). As regards Ireland, Mr John Crim-
mins from the Office of Public Works was registered among the participants, and his details are available
on the site. However, the Commission received no official contribution from Ireland.

In addition to the consultation process, the Directors-General for Civil Protection of the Member States, the
accession countries and the countries in the European Economic Area were specifically consulted at a
meeting held on Kos (Greece) at the beginning of May 2003.

Following that meeting, and having examined the contributions it received, the Commission will probably
adopt the communication announced in the working document during September 2003.

(2004/C 58 E/175)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2366/03

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 July 2003)

Subject: Existing scope of the Iberoeka business cooperation programme

In parallel to the Eureka programme, for joint projects with undertakings from Latin American countries,
the Iberoeka programme has been set up as a support instrument for technological cooperation with the
same group of countries.

Under this programme, a project meeting the requirements may obtain certification as an ‘Iberoeka
project’. This certification is a ‘quality label’ for the project, guaranteeing it preferential funding.

Can the Commission provide information on its evaluation thus far of the results of the Iberoeka
programme? Can it also indicate how it sees the programme’s future and identify the most salient aspects
of its results?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Iberoeka is a self-standing cooperation scheme with no structural links to Eureka.

Iberoeka is a ten-year old initiative from Spain and Portugal and their Latin American partners, in the
context of the Ibero-American Programme of Science and Technology for Development (CYTED). Its main
objective is to increase the productivity and competitiveness of national industries and economies in Ibero-
American countries through close cooperation between companies and research centres in the field of
scientific research, technological development and innovation.