Brussels, 23/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - In light of the nuclear crisis in Japan, European leaders meeting in Brussels for their spring summit are expected approve on Friday 25 March stress tests for 143 nuclear reactors operating in the EU. A series of threats will be examined. Nonetheless, the EU27 have barely been able to agree on the modalities to be used in the tests. These will be voluntary and there are differences with regard to the future for nuclear energy. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is now advocating that her country abandons nuclear power.
The major incident that struck the Fukushima Dacha nuclear reactor (in the wake of the tsunami on 11 March) has obviously led the EU27 to learn a number of lessons about the crisis in Japan. European leaders will also agree on stress tests for the 143 nuclear reactors operating in the EU, as well as for future nuclear plants. These tests will examine a range of different risks (earthquakes, floods, oil slicks, age, type and technical reactor parameters). Günther Oettinger wants to include possible plane crashes and terrorist attacks. The commissioner for energy would like to extend these tests to neighbouring nuclear countries.
For the past week, a deafening cacophony has reigned when it has come to defining what criteria should be taken into account for the stress tests. This confusion has also prevailed in the context of the nuclear power industry's future. After having announced a three-month moratorium on prolonging the life cycle of German nuclear reactors, Chancellor Angela Merkel put the final nail into the coffin on Wednesday when she described nuclear technology as “transitional” for covering the EU's energy needs. She insisted that “the sooner we get out of this, the better it will be”. Italy has decreed a one-year moratorium on the resumption of its nuclear programme. Nonetheless, for the time being, the 14 EU countries that use nuclear power will have to carry out tests on a voluntary basis. Austria, the country most opposed to atomic energy, wants these tests to be made obligatory. (E.H./transl.fl)