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10 october 2002
brussels
EURATOM LOAN FACILITY SHOULD BE ABANDONED
SAYS NEW REPORT
Thursday 10th October, Brussels: Friends
of the Earth Europe today released a report
(1) which demonstrates that the Euratom Loan
facility has failed to increase nuclear
safety in Eastern Europe and must be
abandoned. The report comes as the European
Commission is proposing to extend the loan
facility by a further € 2billion.
The report shows that Euratom Loans in
Eastern Europe are not being used for the
purpose proposed, namely to increase safety
in Eastern Europe, but rather to help expand
the nuclear sector in Eastern Europe. The
only loan under active development is for the
completion of the Cernavoda 2 reactor in
Romanian, which is a Canadian designed
reactor, being built by firms from Canada and
Italy. Furthermore, the report shows that in
all but one case, the upgrading of the Soviet
designed reactors in Accession countries has
been undertaken without funding from Euratom.
Therefore, the loan facility is not necessary
to carry out the proposed safety
programs.
“The Euratom Loan facility is as an
outdated subsidy to the nuclear industry and
must be abandoned”, said Martin Rocholl,
Director of Friends of the Earth Europe, “It
is unbelievable that at the same time that
the EU is pushing for the wider introduction
of a level playing field in the electricity
sector that it is proposing to extend an
outdated subsidy for nuclear power like the
Euratom Loan facility”.
It is expected that at next weeks Cabinet
meeting, on the 16th October, the full
Commission will discuss the proposal to
extend the loan facility by a further €2
billion. If approved the loan facility must
then be given unanimous support by Member
States in the ECOFIN. Already a number of
countries have expressed reservations or
concerns about the Euratom Loan Extension,
with recent resolutions in the the
Parliaments of some Member States calling for
the facility to be abandoned (Austria) or
Euratom’s promotional functions for nuclear
removed (Germany). Furthermore, a number of
other Member States have called for the loan
facility not to be used to expand the nuclear
industry - as is currently intended.
“When Euratom loans were proposed for
Eastern Europe it was said that they would be
used to increase safety, however, instead
they are being used to expand the industry in
the region as construction of new reactors in
the EU has stopped”, added Martin Rocholl
(1) FoE Europe Report: "WHY EURATOM DOES
NOT MAKE OLD NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS SAFER: The
Battle for More Money for New Reactors"
Download it at:
http://www.foeeurope.org/activities/Nuclear/nuclear.htm
Paper version available on request
Contact: Martin Rocholl: + 32 (0) 2 542 01
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