Brussels, 13/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - France, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic are calling on the European Union to subsidise nuclear energy as well as wind and solar energy, according to the German daily, Süddeutsche Zeitung, of Friday 13 April.
A spokesman from the French industry ministry denied, on Friday, reports by Süddeutsche Zeitung that Paris, London, Warsaw and Prague are calling for subsidies to be granted by the European Union for nuclear energy. There is no French initiative along these lines, the spokesman, Eric Besson, said, also stating that there had been no consultation with other countries on that subject.
The above four countries are reported to have sent letters on this to the European Commission, in preparation for the informal meeting of EU energy and environment ministers from 18 to 20 April, in Denmark.
Flouting the German decision to totally give up nuclear energy generation at the end of 2022, the above-mentioned countries want, in future, nuclear power plants to be classified as technologies that do not emit greenhouse gases, in the same way as wind and solar energy generation, the daily states. If the countries concerned manage to make their views prevail, then the building of nuclear plants and the sale of nuclear energy could be subsidised, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports.
A Commission spokesman has said that the Commission neither finances nor co-finances the building of new nuclear plants in Europe. He pointed out that it is entirely up to the member states to decide whether they adopt the nuclear energy option. The Commission is waiting to see what will come out of discussions between member states regarding future energy plans. There is no specific framework governing state aid in the nuclear sector, but the Commission has already approved public subsidies, under the Euratom Treaty, on decommissioning of nuclear plants and nuclear waste management.
“Out of the question”, EP Greens state. The four countries are calling on the EU to subsidise nuclear energy from public funds, the Greens/EFA Group at the European Parliament states, “under the pretext that it will not cause greenhouse gas emissions. Running counter to the European trend of rebuffing atomic energy, the four states wish to make taxpayers pay for supporting dangerous and non-profitable energy”.
Michèle Rivasi is of the opinion that nuclear industry is making a desperate attempt to prop up a flagging industry. The Fukushima disaster took place just one year ago and the situation in the reactors is far from being under control. Stress testing on European reactors has not been finalised and yet pro-nuclear states of the EU - with France to the fore - would like the nuclear option to have the same advantages as renewable energies, Rivasi said, adding: “It is out of the question!” She points out that nuclear energy is already subsidised through public research funding and considers that the most important subsidy of all is the “capping of nuclear plant liability insurance” (no other energy company benefits from such a “scandalous” advantage, she exclaimed).
Yannick Jadot believes the EU must remain firm against the arrogance displayed by the above four countries. “While renewable energies are a fast expanding recent technology, nuclear power is energy of the past, with constantly rising costs. Instead of investing in the future and in renewable energies, one wants to continue imposing an ever-increasing burden on taxpayers and consumers, as is the case in France with the EPR in Flamanville, which already costs €7 billion, although its operation is far from certain”, he states. He goes on to invite the Commission and the other member states not to fall into this trap of an energy aberration, which runs counter to “the elimination of nuclear risk and climate change reduction”. (LC/transl.jl)