WRITTEN QUESTION P-3861/03 by Heide Rühle (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Export guarantee by the German Federal Government for Finnish nuclear reactor.
Date: 2003-12-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Finland, France, Germany, State aid, control of State aid, export aid, nuclear reactor

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/661

(2004/C 78 E/0704)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3861/03

by Heide Rühle (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(8 December 2003)

Subject: Export guarantee by the German Federal Government for Finnish nuclear reactor

Following the decision of the Finnish Government to build a fifth nuclear reactor in Finland, at Olkiluoto,
a decision is to be taken before the end of 2003 as to which firms apart from the Finnish TVO consortium
(Teollisuuden Voima) are to be involved in building the reactor.
In order to guarantee the possible
involvement of the German Siemens group in Olkiluoto, the German Federal Government intends to
approve an application by Siemens for a ‘Hermes guarantee’. A State guarantee of this kind (cid:1) which is
generally only available for the promotion of exports outside the EU (cid:1) would substantially reduce the
commercial risk borne by Siemens in connection with this project and would above all make it possible
for Siemens to borrow money for its participation in the building of the Finnish reactor at significantly
lower interest rates. The French group Framatome is also bidding to build the reactor.

Does this State guarantee for Siemens’ proposed export transaction within the EU violate the relevant
European provisions on State aid, particularly Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which ‘any aid
granted by a Member State or through State resources in any form whatsoever’ is incompatible with the
common market? Does the Commission know, furthermore, whether the French Government is likewise
supporting the commercial plans of Framatome in Olkiluoto by means of an export guarantee? If so, is this
compatible with EC law on State aid? Have the Commission or the Court of Justice of the EC in the past
issued any rulings on similar cases (relating to export guarantees)?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(26 January 2004)

As for the first part of the question, Siemens has announced that it will not apply for the State guarantee
referred to by the Honourable Member.

The Commission is not aware of any support by the French Government in favour of Framatome by
means of a similar export guarantee.

Neither the Commission, nor the Court of Justice have ever taken position on export guarantees in the
nuclear field. Under the EC Treaty the Commission has always considered export aid within the Union
incompatible with the State aid rules and other fundamental principles (e.g. Article 10 of the EC Treaty) as
it is considered as one of the most distortive types of aid (see, e.g. the Communication of the Commission
to the Member States pursuant to Article 93(1) of the EC Treaty applying Articles 92 and 93 of the Treaty
to short-term export-credit insurance (1)). As for the Euratom Treaty, it does not foresee specific provisions
on export aid.

(1) OJ C 281, 17.9.1997, as amended in 2001, OJ C 217, 2.8.2001.

(2004/C 78 E/0705)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3862/03

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

(8 December 2003)

Subject: Community funding for the bridge over the Straits of Messina

With more than five million inhabitants Sicily is the most heavily populated island in the Mediterranean.

Although the bridge over the Straits of Messina is not a cross-border project it is a fundamental link in the
Berlin-Palermo transport axis.