Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-09-Speech-3-200"
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"en.20070509.20.3-200"2
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".
We are indeed commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome – Europe Day – very respectfully and solemnly today. I only regret that the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most important European treaties – EURATOM – is passing quite unnoticed, even though this treaty has made a significant contribution to the development of European energy resources.
The European Union became the leading force in the world in the nuclear industry field and one of the primary entities involved in nuclear research in the field of controlled thermonuclear fission and synthesis. According to data from the end of 2006, there were 152 nuclear reactors operating in the European Union, and the nuclear industry sector was producing 32% of our electrical energy. Nuclear energy is one of the most competitive forms of energy.
I would like to say a few words about the main achievements of the EURATOM Treaty. Firstly, I would like to say that the first scientific research programme to be created on the basis of the EURATOM Treaty developed further into a series of scientific research programmes and laid the foundations for the creation of the Joint Research Centre. On the basis of Section 3 of the EURATOM Treaty on 'Health and Safety Issues', legislation was drafted by the European Union to guarantee that basic worker and public safety requirements would be met and that environmental safety standards would begin to be applied. Another section responsible for significant achievement in the implementation of the EURATOM Treaty is Section 7, the 'Safety Control' section. This was one of the major achievements of the Treaty, allowing the Commission and the public to know about nuclear material reserves and their flow, with the European Union controlling this sensitive segment of the market. Much has been achieved in the field of external relations since EURATOM joined many international Conventions including the Nuclear Safety Convention. I would like to say that EURATOM is actively participating in joint projects within international scientific research programmes and with separate countries that are world leaders in the field.
It is also necessary to stress that, in this period, the EURATOM founder countries have sought to very strictly control and regulate atomic energy development in the European Union, and they have complemented the EURATOM Treaty with new legislation. In my view it is very important to mention that during discussions in the committee and during question time, likewise while meeting with various community sector representatives, many Members of Parliament agreed that it was necessary to fundamentally re-examine Parliament's role. The problem of the undemocratic nature of the EURATOM Treaty is becoming increasingly pressing, and I think that many Members of the European Parliament would agree with me. The European Parliament has to be drawn into wider general decision-making in relation to EURATOM legislation. We consider and, after much discussion, we suggest that it would be best to use Article 203 of the EURATOM Treaty to enable a thorough, constructive, step-by-step solution to concrete issues pertaining to the augmentation of Parliament's powers and Parliament's participation in the supervision of EURATOM activity.
I would like to say a few more things that are important. It is often said that the EURATOM Treaty should be done away with, as it is out of date and unable to fulfil its functions in contemporary energy issues. In fact, that would create dangerous judicial insecurity in all the territory of the European Union because this Treaty regulates a multitude of technical matters and its elimination would really create a threat and the danger of nationalisation of nuclear energy resources. Suggestions that some sections be done away with or that the whole structure be demolished have the same dangerous ring to them. In essence, that would weaken the supervision of the use of nuclear energy in the European Union. I would like to thank all the colleagues, who have actively participated in the discussions, and I invite them to support this report."@en1
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