Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-369"
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"en.20051115.30.2-369"2
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".
Mr President, on the particular issue of Units 1 and 2 of the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant, the rapporteurs in the Slovak Government have both come forward with an estimate of the total cost of decommissioning for the two units as likely to be EUR 750 million. Against this, the Commission’s proposal for an appropriation of EUR 237 million for the period 2007 to 2013 may seem modest, but there are two very strong arguments in favour of keeping to the Commission’s figure of EUR 237 million.
Firstly, although Unit 1 is due to be shut down in 2006, major structural decommissioning will not begin until Unit 2 is shut down in 2008. EUR 237 million is a substantial sum of money for the first five years of a decommissioning period which is expected to last for 30 years.
Secondly, to increase the amount is to make a mockery of the budget which Parliament has already voted. We know that politically we are entering into a very sensitive period on the financial perspectives and it does not help if Parliament votes one thing one minute and another thing the next. We have to respect the vote on the budget. Nor should we be trying to force anyone’s hand on the budget beyond 2013.
The debate on any further money for Bohunice should take place in the context of the next round of budget discussions and in the light of whatever has happened on decommissioning up to that point. It is understandable, however, that the Slovak authorities want to know where they are with the funding over this 2006-2013 financial perspective, so the total sum of EUR 237 million needs to be fixed for that period without further review, although the yearly appropriation may vary.
On the wider issue of decommissioning, the key challenge is to ensure that, on the one hand, enough money is available to decommission nuclear plants safely and, on the other hand, that the financing of decommissioning does not become state aid by the back door. Paragraph 5 of the report is important in this respect. It is the nuclear industry – not governments – that needs to make provision in advance for decommissioning and ensure that the full cost is included in the balance sheet from the start. Too many times in the past the nuclear industry has got its sums wrong and then come begging for financial assistance. That is unacceptable because the failure of the nuclear industry to make proper provision for the cost of decommissioning distorts competition. If back-end costs are not calculated properly, then nuclear-generated electricity appears to be much cheaper than it really is. I hope that the Commission will ensure that such anti-competitive practices are not allowed to occur in future."@en1
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