Strasbourg, 30/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - Two weeks after Commissioner Loyola de Palacio's presentation of the broad lines of her package of proposals on nuclear safety which provides above all for the introduction of compulsory common safety standards for EU Member States and the candidate countries (see EUROPE of 13 September, p.9). Austrian ÖUP members Marialiese Flemming and Paul Rübig spoke to the press in Strasbourg last week on the subject of nuclear safety.
Echoing the Commissioner, Mr Rübig feels it is necessary to have common nuclear safety norms with a view to enlargement taking the standards of the Vienna Convention as a basis. In parallel to the Commissioner's package of proposals, he said, "we have called for a Green Paper comparing the safety practices in EU Member States and candidate countries". This Green Paper should allow the most successful practices to be revealed, he said, noting that it would then be possible to see if the Commission's proposals are sufficient or not.
"I cannot but be pleased with the Commissioner's future proposals", said Ms Flemming, although she did describe nuclear energy as "a monster out of our control". This was a way to warn Loyola de Palacio that she must be very attentive to the safety standards proposed as "at the EPP-ED, we want very stringent rules on this", she said, criticising certain PES members who call for more nuclear energy. In addition to the problem of waste, the cost of nuclear energy causes the MEP concern.
"Ms de Palacio says nuclear energy is cheap energy, but when one calculates the cost, such as dismantling, it is enormous", she explained. Mr Rübig concluded by hoping that the package of proposals would soon arrive and that a Council common position on the question will be possible in December in Copenhagen.