Brussels, 17/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, Günther Oettinger predicted that a number of nuclear reactors in the EU will not meet the highest Community safety standards. His statement triggered a controversy with France, whose energy minister, Eric Besson, said he was “shocked” at the statement made by the commissioner, whom he is to meet on 21 March during a special meeting of the Energy Council. The energy commissioner has made a habit of making catastrophic judgments since the beginning of the nuclear crisis in Japan.
In all probability highly concerned by the nuclear threat in Japan, Oettinger has continued to make blunders all week. A coordination meeting has been held with member states, during which national nuclear safety authorities reached an agreement of principle in favour of stress tests on the 143 reactors operating in the EU, for which there are different risks ranging from seismic risks to terrorist attack, and including the risk of tidal waves, flooding and giant black-outs. After this meeting, on Tuesday, the energy commissioner surprised everyone by describing as “apocalyptic” the major incident which, since the tsunami on Friday 11 March, has struck the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant in Japan. Addressing a European Parliament committee on Wednesday, Oettinger spoke as a merchant of doom, saying how very concerned he was at the situation in Japan and speaking of a “complete disaster”, affirming that the installation in Japan was “out of control”. Also, the day before, the commissioner seemed to have flouted the European executive's duty to show reserve on the energy mix issue, calling for there to be a study on whether the EU can meet its energy needs without the nuclear option in a foreseeable future. In respect for the principle of subsidiarity, which gives member states the sovereign choice to decide on their energy mix and therefore on whether they will or not use nuclear energy, the European Commission generally shows great reserve regarding the nuclear issue. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has even to date defended an “agnostic” stance on this matter.
In an interview broadcast on Thursday on the Franco-German Arte channel, Oettinger was again guilty of bungling things, by predicting that a number of EU reactors will not meet stress tests to be carried out by the end of the year on the basis of common criteria to be defined. He said he believed that the stress tests they wanted to carry out on all nuclear reactors will show that these reactors do not meet the highest safety norms. He pointed out that, in Germany, the authorities have decided to bring seven reactors to a halt for three months. Stress tests will show that there are some among the 143 reactors in the EU that will find it difficult to meet the highest standards, he said, although he did not mention any plants in particular. His comments nonetheless made the French minister for energy, Eric Besson, leap with indignation. Besson immediately stated his “surprise and shock at the commissioner's statements which are of a kind that will cause concern to citizens and throw discredit upon the industry”. “To say, without proof, that some reactors will not pass the safety checks at a time when these are being organised is to say the least surprising”, he added. France has the largest number of nuclear plants in Europe with 58 working reactors, generating over 75% of the country's electricity. Oettinger will have an opportunity to explain himself on Monday during the special Energy Council dedicated to the crisis in Japan, a Council that is also to tackle the issue of organising these famous stress tests. (E.H./transl.jl)