Strasbourg, 12/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - Noting that the Czech government intends starting, in the coming days, the trails of reactor N°1 of the Temelin nuclear reactor (reactor that was originally a soviet designed reactor of the VVER 1000 type later transformed by the American company Westinghouse), the European Parliament called for, in a resolution adopted last week during its emergence debates, that the Czech authorities first wait for the assessment procedures on the environmental effects to be completed, "in accordance with the acceptable standards within the European Union". The Parliament also invites the Czech Parliament to rapidly ratify the ESPOO convention, which guarantees the rights of citizens in neighbouring countries, in the framework of these assessment procedures on the environmental impact concerning nuclear power stations. The Czech government must ensure the control of the security levels in Temelin by experts, and provide further information on this issue to EU institutions, affirms the resolution, which also invites the Czech authorities to fully conform with international safety criteria and continue their cooperation with the IAEA. Issues such as energy and nuclear safety must continue to be dealt with by the mixed EP/Czech Republic parliamentary committee, underlines the Parliament.
During the debate, several Austrian MEPs called for the Czech Republic to respect European standards: this is the case of Mrs Flemming (OVP), who called for the Czech authorities to try and act as if their country was already a member of the EU; the Green Mrs Echerer, who regretted in particular the postponement, without any justification, of the ratification of the ESPOO convention by the Czech Parliament; and the FPÖ member Mrs Raschhofer, who affirmed that the Czech Republic, in this case, is not at all acting in the spirit of partnership and recalled that, this week, all the parties represented in the Austrian Parliament have adopted a resolution saying that the Czech Republic can accede to the EU only if the Temelin power station is adapted.
The European Commission considers the respect for European standards in the in the power stations as a "key issue" in the accession negotiations, and it helps the candidate countries to fulfil the conditions to ensure them, indicated Poul Nielson, who also noted that the IAEA, after having checked the safety system of the Temelin power station noted that the Czech authorities had acted correctly. A voice of discord in this debate: the British Conservative, Mr Chichester felt that there was no reason to interfere in the behaviour of the Czech authorities and strongly attacked his colleagues, especially the Greens, for having asked the question and used "blackmail": I regret that in Austria people "allow themselves to be ruled by their emotions".
Let us recall, last weekend in Evian, the Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Benita Ferrero-Waldner handed to the Council President Hubert Védrine a note calling on the EU to monitor the conditions for the entry into service of the Temelin power station, which is close to the Austrian border. According to several FPÖ leaders, the EU should make the resolution of this affair as a prior condition for the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU.