Nuclear stress tests: EP urges full implementation of safety improvements 

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All the safety improvements recommended following stress tests on the EU's nuclear reactors must be carried out urgently, say MEPs in a resolution adopted on Thursday. They also insist that nuclear plant operators must pay for these improvements and bear all the costs for which they are liable in the event of an accident.


Amalia Sartori (EPP, IT), chair of the energy committee and author of the oral question to the Commission debated on Monday, asked which of the stress test findings would be incorporated into the upcoming review of the Nuclear Safety Directive and called for a clear indication of the timing and content of proposals for binding legislation on nuclear insurance and liability.


Urgent implementation of safety improvements


"The stress tests did show that practically all nuclear power plants need to implement site‑specific safety improvements," says Parliament, which is pressing for the urgent implementation of the necessary upgrade measures.


MEPs want the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) to have a leading role in monitoring the implementation of the recommendations, while stressing that "whatever the costs of such improvements they must be borne entirely by the nuclear operators and not by the taxpayer".


Nuclear safety directive and liability


Parliament welcomes the upcoming revision of the Nuclear Safety Directive which should be "ambitious in nature" and lead to major improvements. It also welcomes the Commission's plans for "legislative and non-legislative instruments" for nuclear insurance and liability, while stressing that nuclear operators and waste licensees should be required to have "alll financial means in place, through insurance and other financial instruments to enable them to fully cover all costs for which they are liable in respect of damage caused to people and the environment in the event of an accident.



Nuclear stress tests


The text underlines that the stress tests were "limited in scope" and did not extend to off-site emergency preparedness despite the importance of limiting the impact of potential nuclear accidents on the population. It notes that in the EU, 47 nuclear power plants with 111 reactors have more than 100 000 inhabitants living within 30 km.


An amendment adopted by 315 votes to 282 highlights that stress tests are "incomplete" and risks such as secondary events, material deterioration, human errors, and specific flews inside the reactor vessels were not taken into account. The text says that "even if it is successful a stress tests will not guarantee the safety of a nuclear power plant."


The non-binding resolution was adopted by 414 votes to 116, with 83 abstentions.


Procedure: Oral question to Commission (with resolution)


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