The International Network
for Sustainable Energy

EU Energy Policy:
- Nuclear Safety Directive

Updated: July 2008

Status
In June 2004, the EU Environment Ministers discussed the "EU Nuclear Package" including the Directive for nuclear safety principles. They concluded that rather than working further with the Directive, they would "engage in a wide ranging consultation process facilitating the choice of instrument(s), in the framework of the Euratom Treaty, that can contribute more effectively to achieving nuclear safety and the safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, without excluding any instrument".

September 8, 2004 the EU Commission launched an amended proposal (COM2004/526); but the countries decided to continue to work on their conclusion from June. This decision has postponed any new step for a long time.

May 23, 2008, in an EU Observer’s article, Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Energy, called Member States to agree on common nuclear safety rules. Commissioner Piebalgs declared that despite Member States unwillingness to give more power on nuclear issues to the EU, progresses are inevitable. Common rules would especially speed up certification procedures for new nuclear power plants by making clearer which requirements are compulsory.
Read the full article on EU Observer’s web site

History
November 6, 2002, the EU Commission launched a “Nuclear package” including a Communication on “Nuclear Safety in the European Union” COM2002(605)final.

January 30, 2003, A new version was released.

2003, the proposal had been discussed among the EU countries.

At the end of 2003, the proposal was discussed in the EU Parliament committee on industry, external trade, research; though the EU Parliament has no formal decision power on this issue.

June 28, 2004, the proposal was rejected by the EU Environment Ministers as described above.

October 23, 2004, the EU Commission published a new amended proposal (COM2004/526).

October 2004: The countries decided not to work on the new proposal from the Commission, but to continue based on their June 2004 conclusions.

Read the 2004 proposal on the EU law web site

Distortion of Electricity Market Continues, INFORSE-Europe Opinion to Postponement of Proposal (2004)
While NGOs are happy with this postponement of the problematic proposal, it leaves one issue unanswered: There is no limit of the use of decommissioning funds and waste storage funds from nuclear power plants. This gives an unhealthy distortion of the internal electricity markets, where some power companies have these funds at their disposal for decades until they are needed for decommissioning and final storages of radioactive waste. Large power companies such as the French EdF and German BWE & E-On uses these funds to buy-up of competitors. Other companies do not have this opportunity, either because they have no nuclear power plants or because national regulations do not allow it.
This market distortion must be stopped.

1st Proposal (November 2002)
Content and Background
There is a real need to increase the safety standards of the EU's nuclear facilities regardless of enlargement. The nuclear facilities of the first 15 EU countries are ageing. As a consequence many reactors within the EU are now being operated for far longer than their designers originally envisaged. Furthermore, the decline in the wholesale price for electricity, as is seen in many Member States, have increased the cost cutting pressures within the electricity industry, with its subsequent potential impact on safety. Already regulators in a number of Member States have warned nuclear utilities that these cost cutting programs are impacting on their safety practices.
Despite this the framework directive did not require the setting of even basic EU nuclear safety standards, but rather setting out basic obligations and general principals on safety, with a view to setting up common standards and control mechanisms at a later date. Even this weaker stance was undermined further as the draft directive stated that the monitoring of nuclear facilities in Member States, being organised by the Commission should have only be done assuming that Member States had prior notification specifying 'the subject matter, the purpose of inspections, the date of inspection and the names of the people undertaking it. Furthermore, "the inspection reports and the answers of the Member States shall be confidential".
The Directive also required that funds set aside by a nuclear utility for future decommissioning were placed into a separate accounts, with "their own legal personality separated from the operator of the installation". This has been shown to be necessary to both ensure that the funds are placed in secure accounts, so that when the funds are finally needed sufficient funds are available and secondly to ensure that utilities do not use these funds as a "war chest" for purchases in the national or international utilities market. However, the draft text also stated that this separation of funds might not be undertaken in "specific and properly justified cases". This generic loophole totally undermined the directive intentions.

INFORSE Recommendation Regarding Original Proposal
The granting of powers to oversee nuclear safety within the EU requires careful consideration and must not be undertaken in haste. No additional responsibilities should be placed upon the European Commission, via the Euratom Treaty, on nuclear energy, until the ongoing EU Convention has completed its work. Specifically, the role of the Euratom Treaty within the framework of EU legislation needs to be reviewed given its lack of openness and democratic control as well as the problematic requirement of promoting and controlling nuclear technology.
The Commission should introduce legislation to ensure that utilities create separate legal entities to protect the decommissioning and radioactive waste management funds. Under no circumstances must these funds remain under the control of the utilities to both ensure that sufficient funds are available to carry out the desired work when required and that the funds are not used to acquire other utilities. This clear electricity market distortion must be brought to an end the sooner the better.

Various Information Related to Nuclear Safety (Up to 2008)
“European Nuclear Energy Forum” decided by the European Summit (8-9 March 2007)
The aim of this Forum is to organise a broad discussion on the opportunities and risks of nuclear energy. This forum gathers all relevant stakeholders. The inaugural meeting of the European Nuclear Energy Forum took place in November 2007. The Forum discussed topics such as opportunities of nuclear energy, risks, information and transparency. It also set up working groups starting from 2008. The working groups presented their activities in a General Meeting on May 22-23, 2008.
Read more on the European Commission web site

Nuclear Safety Within 3rd Countries (2007 Regulation)
On February 19, 2007, the EU Council adopted a regulation "to support the promotion of a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear material in third countries”. Financial, economic and technical assistance will be provided to regulatory bodies, organisations, national or local government and firms. Funds will be granted on the basis of multi annual strategy papers and indicative programmes. 524 million EUR are available for this regulation for the 2007-2013 period.
Read more on the EU Parliament's web site

Euro barometer on “Europeans and Nuclear Safety” (Published in February 2007)
This survey shows that 39% of European citizens wants that the level of nuclear energy as a proportion of all energy sources be decreased (14% wants it to increase). Moreover, 53% of people who have been asked thinks that “The risks of nuclear power as an energy source outweigh its advantages”.
Read the survey on the European Commission's web site (pdf file, 3,5MB)

« Return to EU Energy Policy