Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-04-Speech-1-265-000"
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"en.20110404.22.1-265-000"2
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"Madam President, the Commission very much welcomes Parliament’s own-initiative report on the efficient and effective EU funding of decommissioning of nuclear power plants in the new Member States. Nuclear safety is, and will remain, an absolute priority for the EU, and this is why the Commission attaches great importance to efforts that facilitate the safe decommissioning of nuclear reactor units that have been deemed not to be upgradeable to the necessary safety standards.
Let me first say that we share with Parliament many of the views expressed in its report. We agree with the need for Member States to provide detailed decommissioning plans, as well as sound long-term financial planning. We also deem it essential for the funds, for the most part, to be allocated to decommissioning activities and for the Commission to have an important role to play in ensuring strict monitoring of the use of the funds.
The Commission believes in a strict application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle, so we share the opinion of Parliament that it is up to the operators of the nuclear plant to ensure that financial resources for decommissioning are already allocated during the operational life of the plants. Decommissioning must be made as safe as possible, and sound, transparent and supervised management of decommissioning funds is crucial for this.
It can also be noted, however, that the report focuses on the efficiency and effectiveness of EU funding in the area of decommissioning. The Commission was glad to see, in various parts of the report, that there is full recognition that the main objective of the EU funding was, first and foremost, to ensure that the reactor units were closed and remained so for nuclear safety reasons. We believe that having met this objective is an essential element to be taken into account when assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of EU funding.
The Commission considers it important to clarify that EU support was never intended to cover the full cost of decommissioning, nor to compensate for all the economic consequences. EU support was aimed merely at contributing to compensation for the early stages of closure.
The Commission also underlines that it is the Member State that bears full responsibility for the decommissioning of its nuclear installations. Providing detailed long-term planning is the responsibility of the Member States, which are equally responsible for establishing precise timetables and cost estimates for the completion of decommissioning.
I would like to thank the rapporteur and Parliament for this timely debate on an issue which, in the context of Fukushima, has become more pertinent. Safe and complete decommissioning is a key element of nuclear safety, for which we aim at the highest standards. Parliament’s report constitutes a valuable contribution to the discussion that the Commission will have with the three Member States concerned in view of assessing possible financial EU support beyond 2013."@en1
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