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FACTSHEET
EESC and the Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC)
September 2016
The European Commission published its proposal for an illustrative programme (PINC) on nuclear production targets and investment in April 2016. The EESC’s opinion, adopted at the EESC Plenary on 22 September 2016, indicates that the proposed PINC fails to address the burning issues of the competitiveness of nuclear power, its contribution to security of supply and to climate change and carbon targets, its safety along with the questions of transparency and preparation for emergencies.
Key issues addressed in this position paper:
· Why is the EESC’s role significant in the nuclear context?
· What is the EESC’s position on the 2016 PINC?
· What are the EESC’s recommendations?
· Why is this important now?
Why is the EESC's role significant in the nuclear context?
The 1957 Euratom Treaty was originally established to govern the peaceful use of nuclear energy within the EU. The treaty established the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Euratom has a centralised monitoring system overseeing the management of 129 nuclear reactors operating in 14 EU countries. These reactors generate 27% of the EU’s electricity supply.
Under Article 40 of the Euratom Treaty (COM/2003/0370 final), the European Commission is tasked with coordinating the development of investment in nuclear energy. Part of its remit is to periodically prepare a document (PINC) which provides an overview of investments for each step of the nuclear lifecycle. The EESC’s role in this context is unique in that the final document can only be published once the Commission has received the opinion of the EESC. The final PINC is then presented to the Council and the European Parliament. Since 1958, five such documents have been published, the most recent one in 2007 and updated in 2008.
What is the EESC's position on PINC?
The EESC finds that the 2016 PINC is lacking a comprehensive strategy in relation to the European energy mix. It is half the length of the 2007 PINC. Clear analytical processes and methodology are absent. Guidelines would be very helpful to Member States when making decisions about the role – if any – of nuclear power in their energy usage.
The emphasis on high safety standards and on the safe decommissioning of spent nuclear facilities is welcomed. The 2016 PINC pays specific attention to the back-end of a reactor’s lifecycle which deals with waste management and decommissioning regulated by the EU’s Directive for the Management of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel (the ‘Waste Directive’). The attention devoted to continuing research is also lauded. However, the draft PINC is greatly weakened by all that is left unwritten.
What are the EESC's recommendations?
The EESC’s opinion strongly recommends that revisions and additions be made to the draft PINC. Specifically, it should include sections on:
· the competitiveness of nuclear power;
· the attendant economic aspects;
· security of supply, with reference to the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA);
· climate change and carbon targets, highlighting the fact that nuclear power now accounts for half of the EU’s low-carbon electricity;
· public confidence, in particular its effect on the political acceptability of nuclear energy;
· Relevant updates should be included, such as Sweden’s recent measures to ensure supply from 100% renewables by 2040.
The EU’s Energy Union strategy aims at secure, affordable and sustainable energy. One of its aims is to support breakthroughs in low-carbon technologies by coordinating research. The Commission should include in the PINC an analysis of the investment needs for nuclear power if all the Energy Union’s goals are to be met. The EESC recommends that the Commission take into account a potential supply of electricity from fusion power plants post-2050. The European Fusion Development Fund (EFDA) roadmap describes how to move from experimentation to viability. It would be helpful if the PINC had a corresponding roadmap charting the progress of fusion towards commercial production.
The 2016 PINC requires strategic vision. It would also gain from an analysis of the potentially far-reaching consequences of the UK’s vote to leave the EU. The significance for the Euratom Treaty is unclear. Though Euratom is governed by the EU’s institutions, it is a separate legal entity.
Why is this important now?
This is long overdue. It is the first PINC since the Fukushima accident in 2011. Civil society is fearful and wants to know that EU nuclear plants are being managed with the highest regard to safety. In response to the accident, stress tests were carried out in 2011 and 2012 to measure the ability of EU nuclear facilities to withstand natural disasters and in 2014 the EU amended its Nuclear Safety Directive.
Will this allay fears regarding non-EU neighbouring nuclear power usage? The EESC believes that active contact with Belarus, in particular, would help resolve concerns over the construction of its first nuclear reactor in Ostrovets. The EESC commends the role of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) in promoting transparency, dialogue and action plan implementation.
These topics will be addressed at the upcoming European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) Plenary meeting being held in Bratislava 3-4 October. The European Nuclear Energy Forum was founded in 2007 and brings together all relevant parties from the nuclear field: governments of the 28 EU Member States, European institutions including the European Parliament and the EESC, nuclear industry and regulators, electricity consumers and civil society. At this meeting, the challenges, risks and opportunities surrounding nuclear energy are scheduled to be discussed frankly and in an open manner. It is at this event that Pierre Jean Coulon, President of the Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and Information Society (TEN) at the EESC, will deliver EESC opinion's recommendations to policy-makers, top stakeholders and industries in the EU.
Further information
EESC Press Unit:Caroline Alibert-Deprez
Email:
Tel: +32 2 546 8422
About the EESC
The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the EU decision-making process. The Committee has 350 members from across Europe, who are appointed by the Council of the European Union.
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