Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-11-Speech-3-084"
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"en.20061011.14.3-084"2
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"Madam President, my city of birth, Lahti, may be the stage for an important event when it hosts the EU summit. The subject-matter is most apt for Lahti, an area which for a long time has had a high profile as a centre of excellence in environmental technology – because there is no point talking about energy without energy efficiency. The most effective way of quickly increasing self-sufficiency in energy is to improve energy efficiency and conservation. When we hold the energy dialogue with Russia, we also need to say that it is not politically wise to increase our dependence on Russia for energy any further.
In the light of the climate challenge, we need all the resources we can muster. All low-emission energy must be given the credit it is due. It is high time we did away with the idea that renewable energy and emission-free nuclear power are somehow opposed to each other. This is an illusion: it is something that is more in the mind than what is actually the case when it comes to practical attitudes to energy.
I have asked the Finnish Minister for Trade and Industry to include the re-examination of Bulgaria’s accession conditions on the Lahti agenda. I am alluding to the unfair and unnecessary decision to close four of the six nuclear reactors at Kozloduy. When we look at the criteria behind the decision today, we can see that the condition imposed on Bulgaria in Helsinki seven years ago is now obsolete. It is also unreasonable in view of European energy policy objectives. Improvements have been made, and the Council’s working group has itself stated that the power plants meet safety conditions. Even so, they have to be closed by the end of the year.
If Finland does not address the problem now, there will be a shortage of energy not only in Bulgaria but also in its neighbouring countries, whose electricity needs Bulgaria has met these last five years. The Commission’s claim that these reactors could be improved in economic terms has proven wrong. Kozloduy produces electricity at less than two cents per kilowatt-hour. Closing them can be partially compensated for, and that will be through the use of power plants burning lignite, the dirtiest of all energy sources. Consequently, EU cash is being used to switch from a cleaner technology to a dirtier one. That is madness.
In asking for the case to be re-examined, I am not saying that we should renege on the agreement, but rather that we should examine it in the light of current information, so that there could be flexibility on the closure date. Why should Bulgaria increase its greenhouse gas emissions when it has an alternative which has been found to be safe?"@en1
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