Nuclear power in Europe

Brussels is against member states exporting their nuclear waste to countries outside the EU or to store it in joint sites, energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger said, as the commission is working on a set of common safety standards for this dangerous material.

“It is the duty of national politicians to do their homework,” Mr Oettinger told Financial Times Deutschland in an interview published on Wednesday (10 March). The German commissioner warned against common storage sites, as well as exporting the radioactive material outside the EU, for instance Russia. (more…)

The European Commission will table a legislative proposal on the treatment of radioactive waste before the end of the year, commission president José Manuel Barroso told a conference on nuclear energy in Paris on Monday.

Energy commissioner Günther Oettinger hinted at legislation on nuclear waste management at a European Parliament hearing in January. He said setting the “highest possible” safety standards for disposal would be a priority. “Further costs cannot be a consideration,” he warned. (more…)

The European Commission decided to extend the period of financial support to Bulgaria for the decommissioning of units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. On top of the EUR550 million already allocated, the Commission has pledged a sum of EUR300 million for the time period 2010-2013. (more…)

Regulators warn against common EU standards.

The European Commission will scale down its ambitions for EU-wide nuclear-safety rules when it publishes a draft directive next week (27 November). (more…)

BRUSSELS, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Lithuania’s hopes of being allowed to extend the life of its Ignalina nuclear power plant were dashed on Wednesday by the European Commission.

In its treaty on joining the European Union in 2004, Lithuania promised to shut by the end of 2009 the second reactor at the plant, which is similar to Ukraine’s Chernobyl facility where the world’s worst nuclear disaster struck in 1986. (more…)

Sofia. Bulgaria has once again been tarnished before the face of Brussels, as reports over substituted nuclear fuel in NPP Kozloduy reached José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. This is what representatives of the Committee for protection of nuclear physicist Georgi Kotev announced yesterday.
According to Georgi Kotev, fresh supplies of nuke fuel have been substituted for already used combustion material, thus securing a million dollar shady deal. (more…)

PARIS – Slammed by the surging cost of energy imported from volatile regions and befuddled about how to meet their pledges for tackling global warming, European countries are reviving nuclear’s role in their energy strategies.

Pro-nuclear countries are pushing ahead with plans for next-generation reactors, encountering so far either minimal opposition or even acquiescence. In some anti-nuclear countries, decisions to phase out power are being reversed or are under threat. (more…)

BRUSSELS, May 7 (Xinhua) — The European Commission and the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday signed a joint statement on enhanced cooperation in nuclear energy.

The purpose of the joint statement is to highlight the mutual will to further strengthen cooperation, emphasize the specific priority areas and provide for regular high-level meetings to facilitate this reinforced cooperation, said the commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU). (more…)

Paris, March 13, 2006 – Nuclear power will dominate the first G8 energy summit in Moscow next week.

The rising price of fossil fuels, combined with concerns about the greenhouse effect and the demands of the Kyoto agreement ha s meant industrialised nations are having to reconsider how they source their energy supplies. Most countries regard nuclear energy as the solution to environmental concerns and dwindling fossil fuel supplies. (more…)