Commission ruling against EDF welcomed, but EU must do more to prevent nuclear cheats

Friends of the Earth Europe welcomes the European Commission’s confirmation that it will require France to end state guarantees to Electricité de France (EDF), which is Europe’s largest nuclear generator. But the environmental group also calls on the EU to do more to prevent all nuclear utilities from cheating in the energy market.

Friends of the Earth believes that ending state aids such as these is crucial to developing fairer conditions for renewable energy technologies across the EU. Large nuclear generators have for decades benefited from a variety of direct and indirect subsidies.

EDF will be affected in several ways by today’s move. Financing costs for any new nuclear construction programme will increase, and in the lead up to privatisation, EDF will have to open its huge nuclear liabilities to scrutiny by potential investors.

However, Friends of the Earth calls on the EU to go further than today’s decision by supplementing the Commission’s case-by-case approach with standardised legislation on the provision for long-term liabilities incurred by all nuclear operators. An attempt to do this under the outdated Euratom treaty was recently abandoned, and so new legislation needs to be reintroduced under the EC treaty.

Friends of the Earth Europe’s Energy Campaigner Mark Johnston says:

“EDF has been living off the French state for longer than anyone can remember. We welcome the Commission’s moves to begin to end this situation and to restrict EDF’s market abuse. However, EDF is not the only case. The EU needs a consistent approach that reflects real investment risks, and in particular controls nuclear firms and their accumulation and use of long-term liabilities funds for decommissioning and radioactive waste management.”

 

Contact:
Mark Johnston +44 79 7331 9249

Notes:
1. The details of the Commission’s investigation into EDF are, in addition to today’s statements, described in press notices IP/02/1485 and IP/03/477.

Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment,
unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups
and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.