Brussels, 02/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - French Green/EFA MEPs Yannick Jadot and Michèle Rivasi have criticised the European Commission's request for European taxpayers to bear the burden of the estimated tripling of the costs of the international experimental nuclear fusion reaction ITER (see EUROPE 10146), particularly French taxpayers (the ITER reactor is in France).
In a press release issued on 2 June, Jadot said the Commission is considering the unthinkable, namely that European taxpayers should pay through the nose for the budget overshoot despite the social crisis, austerity programmes and shortage of public finance in Europe. He said other European expenditure should be reined in or EU countries should add further funding. Rivasi said that the EU's six ITER partner countries may not follow Europe in providing the extra funding, explaining that Obama's Administration is planning a 40% cut-back in its funding of ITER in the draft budget bill for 2011.
The two MEPs call for a re-examination of the ITER project, with Jadot saying that EU research should have realistic targets that meet Europeans' expectations and the planet's imperatives. Rivasi said people had to understand that ITER was a long-term project and nobody even knows if the technology will ever work and yet there are claims that the first reaction “might be ready” in 2027. (C-C.G/transl.fl)