Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-366"
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"en.20051115.30.2-366"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the reports I am presenting tonight concern financing for the decommissioning of nuclear power stations, both in general and in one specific case. I very much regret that we are debating this topic at night, because this issue is so serious and has gone so far off the rails that I would have liked it to be discussed in the clear light of day and with our full attention, as was the case when we recently discussed the REACH programme.
It is a pity that, although the Committee was able to reach agreement on the general direction in which decommissioning provisions should go, we could not agree on the detail and decide upon a set of criteria that we could recommend to the Commission when, as I hope it does, it adopts my overall proposals. If that is what the House still wants to bring about, then I ask it to support the amendment that my group has tabled, so that we can achieve what I have just proposed.
In concrete terms, however, we are not just discussing provisions in general, but the specific issue of the decommissioning of the Bohunice nuclear power plant. It has been decided to close down the Bohunice plant because of safety problems that cannot be overcome by retrofitting. Under the EU’s PHARE programme, EUR 240 million of EU funding has already been paid to Slovakia in connection with the closure of Bohunice. This money is intended to enhance safety in the area around Bohunice and also provide financial compensation for its early closure. Following this initial payment, the Commission is now proposing to pay a further EUR 237 million for closure measures and replacement capacity. On the basis of my own knowledge of the cost of closure and decommissioning measures, I regard this proposal as appropriate.
I do, however, wish to specifically reject the proposed increase in funding to EUR 400 million for which there have been calls on both the left and right of this House. False promises will neither help us to gain acceptance for European policy nor guarantee safety at Bohunice. I will work to ensure that the funding the Commission regards as appropriate is paid. I will also work to this end in the context of discussions on the financial perspective and in the budget debates for forthcoming periods. But at the same time I shall also be working to ensure that this money, which we would then be paying – and this still depends on the financial perspective – is actually used to benefit the safety of the public in Slovakia and elsewhere in the EU. I will very definitely oppose companies like Slovenské Elektrárne or ENEL in Italy using this money to build new nuclear power stations.
As the rapporteur, and as an opponent of nuclear energy, I would have liked to recommend that you support Amendment 18 from the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, which supported the Commission proposal with regard to the level of funding, but, as that amendment has, unfortunately, been withdrawn, I recommend – if you want to be realistic and honest towards Slovakia – that you vote tomorrow against Amendment 12 and make sure that Commissioner Piebalgs’ reasonable proposal is accepted.
Earlier this year, the Commission brought forward its first communication on preparations for the financing of decommissioning and waste disposal for nuclear installations in Member States operating nuclear power stations.
This communication is incomplete, to put it mildly. However, for once it is not the Commission that is responsible for these omissions, but rather the governments of the Member States, which up to now have been very reluctant to reveal the truth about the nuclear industry’s inherited and future liabilities.
The Commission communication demonstrates to me how little the ‘polluter pays’ principle has applied to Europe’s nuclear industry up to now. Funds in which there is sufficient money to finance the decommissioning of nuclear power stations and the storage of nuclear waste are unfortunately the exception in Europe and certainly not the rule. By neglecting to set aside provisions for waste disposal, the eastern Member States have far more in common with the western Member States than many of us would like to admit. In France, the European Union’s leading nuclear country, the Court of Auditors assumes that the taxpayer will one day have to pay for EDF’s liabilities, that is to say the nuclear industry’s liabilities. In the UK, the government, that is to say the taxpayer, has taken on the knock-on financing for the decommissioning fund: EUR 1.5 billion according to the Commission’s estimates. And it will not necessarily be the last time that the UK nuclear industry has had to be bailed out by the public. The cost of decommissioning a nuclear power station is estimated at between EUR 200 million and EUR 1 billion. So you can imagine what may be yet to come.
Let us be clear about the financial dimensions of this whole issue: there are currently 149 nuclear power stations in operation in Europe, and in view of their age and technical condition the Commission is working on the assumption that over the next 20 years, 50 to 60 of these reactors will have to be taken offline. In the majority of cases there has so far been a failure to make adequate provision for decommissioning and disposal, if any at all.
When and how the decommissioning of a nuclear power station is commenced once it has been closed down, and how waste disposal is arranged is, however, vital when it comes to avoiding the impact of radiation on the environment, on neighbouring residents and on the workers carrying out the decommissioning. I believe that the decision as to how and when decommissioning takes place – and I believe that this is also the view of those who believe in a responsible environmental policy – should be guided solely by safety considerations, and safety should in no circumstances take second place to the financial interests of the nuclear industry.
This whole business is becoming very expensive, and this large sum of money, which is simply not available at present, is needed not just at a specific point in time, but may continue to be needed for many centuries to come. Given the number of companies that go bankrupt, and the growing hunger of international hedge funds for European companies, I can only urge the Commission to put pressure on the Member States finally to encourage their nuclear industries to get a financial grip on their liabilities. That is why I believe that actual funds need to be created.
In Germany, for example, we can now assume that EUR 30 billion has actually been set aside by the nuclear industry. However, it is hard to say where this money is at present, because this amount, EUR 30 billion, which is equivalent to the GNP of all the Baltic States combined in a single year, has been blown on shopping sprees both here in Europe and beyond. People like buying other energy supply companies, and also water supply or telecommunications companies, in fact companies in all sectors involving supply networks. If I argue about this, I am repeatedly told that we must make our money work for us. But even in Germany no one can guarantee at present that the billions that we will need in 2030, 2040 or 2050 will actually be available by then. I believe that we should be working towards the guaranteed availability of funding for waste disposal, and I also believe that it should be forbidden to use these provisions, which were collected from electricity customers to make provision for future liabilities, in a way that distorts markets and competition.
The aim of my compromise text, which I am presenting in this Chamber today together with my own-initiative report, and which we will be voting on tomorrow, is to encourage the Commission to take action on deficiencies in relation to provisions for waste disposal. I remain convinced that it is right for Member States to retain responsibility for nuclear waste. I am, however, equally convinced that here in Europe we lack strong uniform criteria for companies to set up funds. I believe that the polluter pays principle must be observed. Financial provision for decommissioning and waste disposal must also be guided by the highest safety standards. Decommissioning funds at company level, which are kept separate from the general operating budget and which are also externally audited, would both enhance nuclear safety and allow us to avoid the nuclear industry repeatedly making off with public money."@en1
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