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EU TO FINANCE A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
IN ROMANIA?
NO TO EURATOM LOAN FOR CERNAVODA II
Brussels, Rome: (Dec.12th 2001): Today a
large international coalition of ca. 35 environmental organizations
started the campaign "Stop Euratom loan for Cernavoda II".
Cernavoda II would be the second reactor of the only nuclear power plant
in Romania. The Italian/Canadian consortium AECL Canada and ANSALDO is
seeking to get a EURATOM loan from the European Commission. This second
reactor is not needed for covering electricity demand in Romania and is
only an increase of nuclear risk.
A coalition of all major Italian NGOs – among them
Greenpeace Italy, Friends of the Earth Italy, WWF Italy - sent a letter of
protest to the Italian government and the Italian export credit agency
SACE against their financing of Cernavoda II. Today at 10.00 in the
morning around 30 activists of Attac Italy and Campagna per la riforma
della Banca mondiale started a demonstration "SACE out of Nukes"
in front of the SACE office in Rome. It would be the
Italian construction company Ansaldo receiving the state guarantee from
SACE.
"Cernavoda II is the focus of our activities to stop the EU´s
nuclear energy promotion – EURATOM. Its sole purpose is to support
unwanted nuclear energy production, mainly outside the EU. Cernavoda is
the only project in the pipeline that EURATOM is currently preparing. We
will analyse the Environmental Impact Assessment, the Least cost study
etc. and inform decision takers and the public about how the European
Union is directly supporting the nuclear industry," says Patricia
Lorenz in the name of the FOE Europe network and several other
environmental groups that joined the EURATOM campaign.
The first reactor at Cernavoda was put on the grid in 1996 and the second
unit is between 20 – 30% complete. Since electricity consumption is
steadily decreasing in Romania, the Cernavoda II reactor is superfluous.
Moreover, Romania has a clear overcapacity installed and this new output
is clearly intended for export, mainly EU market.
Although not yet officially, the European Commission seems to have decided
that Cernavoda should be financed. Funding this project this would be
clearly against the guidelines for EURATOM loans to non- EU countries. The
1994 Council regulation says that loans are to be used for safety
upgrades, e.g. Soviet design reactors. The import of a Canadian CANDU
reactor cannot be considered as falling into this category. Other safety
problems occurring in Romania will not be solved by EU involvement, but
will be further increased: Strikes of the NPP personnel, and a generally
unreliable economic situation that also has a negative influence on
nuclear safety.
Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen is scheduled to visit Romania
on December 17th. "We ask Commissioner Verheugen not to give the
nuclear industry a new reactor as a Christmas present that will leave the
Romanians with more nuclear waste and more debts," says Patricia
Lorenz.
For further information: Background paper on Cernavoda II, FOEE December
2001; Background papers on EURATOM
Or contact: Patricia Lorenz, tel. 0043 1 812 57 30 – 20 or 0043 664 131
66 99
FoEE Antinuclear Campaigner
patricia.lorenz@foeeurope.org
Friends of the Earth is the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, campaigning to protect the environment and
create sustainable societies.
Friends of the Earth Europe unites more than 30 national member organisations with thousands of local groups.
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