WRITTEN QUESTION E-0544/00 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Bohunice and Mochovce.
C 53 E/8 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 2. 2001 Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (3 May 2000) The Fiscalis programme (established by Decision No 888/98/EC of the Parliament and the Council of 30 March 1998 establishing a programme of Community action to ameliorate the indirect taxation systems of the internal market (1)) aims to encourage and facilitate co-operation between the Communityís indirect taxation administrations and between them and the Commission, in order to improve the indirect taxation systems of the internal market. The programme is managed by the Commission, with a single set of financial and organisational rules. There are no sums or allocations made to national administrative bodies, professional associations or public or private bodies. The participants in the programme are Member Statesí taxation administrations in partnership with the Commission. All payments are made by the Commission, although local costs are reimbursed through the agency of Member Statesí administrations. indirect The following information about the programme might be helpful: ü expenditure under the Fiscalis programme falls into two main areas. The first is the area of joint actions which includes seminars, exchanges and multilateral controls, aimed at officials and experts from these administrations. The cost of the participation of their officials in these actions is met by the Community and expenditure related to them is expected to account for approximately € 2,8 million in 2000. The second area covers information exchange systems, manuals and guides and common training actions, of which information technology related activities account for the greater part (approximately half of the annual budget). Activities carried out in the field of information technology are often performed by external sub-contractors under the supervision of the Commission. Contracts are awarded to these companies under existing public procurement rules. Expenditure related to this second area of actions is expected to account for approximately € 5,2 million in 2000; ü all activities approved under Fiscalis have to support Community objectives and to be of benefit to the internal market. There is management of actions with both ex-ante justification and ex-post evaluation by the Commission, with advice from Member States through the appropriate committee. Member States are obliged to keep records and supporting documents in relation to the management of any funds entrusted to them for a period of five years during which the Commission is entitled to perform controls to verify its proper management; ü the Commission will, as required by the Fiscalis Decision, submit a communication to the Parliament and the Council, by 30 June 2001 at the latest. This will provide an interim evaluation, prepared on the basis of the Member Statesí interim reports, with detailed information on the programmeís activities. (1) OJ L 126, 28. 4. 1998. (2001/C 53 E/011) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0544/00 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (28 February 2000) Subject: Bohunice and Mochovce The nuclear power stations at Bohunice and Mochovce represent incalculable risks not only to the local population. Accidents in the A1 Bohunice reactor in 1976 and 1977 released large quantities of radioactive material and contaminated some of the land around the plant and banks of streams and rivers downstream. There is also persistent groundwater contamination from leaking containers and the release of radioactively-contaminated material after the flooding of the storage area. When the Slovakian regulatory authority (UJD) was re-established in January 1993 its senior echelons were composed entirely of former staff from the Bohunice nuclear power station involved in the Bohunice-A1 accident. 20. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 53 E/9 1. Who is responsible: (a) for informing the population in event of the release of radioactive material into the biosphere, and (b) for inspecting and repairing the damage to reactor A1? 2. What independent body will in future ensure that the population is informed in good time and protected from injury by contaminated material? On the basis of what considerations and what assessment of the situation is the dismantling of 3. Bohunice A1 being continually postponed (latest date: 2050)? 4. Which of the modifications to reactors 1 and 2 at Mochovce called for in the agreement between the operators and Riskaudit have not yet been carried out? 5. When and by whom are the implementation and approval of the remaining security measures for reactor 1 to be carried out? Is there any independent inspectorate apart from the UJD holding any responsibility for safety 6. measures and radiation protection? Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission (7 April 2000) The Slovak government has taken the decision to shut down reactors 1 and 2 at Bohunice V1 by 2006 and 2008 respectively. The old A1 reactor at Bohunice is currently under decommissioning. Recommen- dations made by international bodies to improve security at Mochovce are being taken into account. The information available to the Commission indicates that contamination resulting from the incidents at Bohunice A1 affected the soil below and around the plant. Contaminated soil has been isolated. Soil and water in the proximity of the site is permanently monitored. In Slovakia, the operator of a nuclear power plant has the obligation to inform immediately the Slovak nuclear regulatory authority (UJD) of any nuclear incident. According to the international convention on early notification, which has been ratified by Slovakia, the Slovak nuclear regulatory authority (UJD) is responsible for the information of the population as well as of the neighbouring countries. The operator of Bohunice A1 (Slovenske Elektrarne) has the obligation of decommissioning the A1 reactor and is in charge of doing so. A decommissioning unit with a staff of 24 is devoted to this task. The UJD is responsible for the monitoring of the decommissioning process. There is no postponement as regards the decommissioning of the A1 reactor. Decommissioning is a long process. The first phase of the operation (dismantling waste) is currently being carried out. A second phase (dismantling the technical parts of the reactor, except the reactor vessel), is expected to be completed by 2010. The third phase (dismantling the reactor vessel) is expected to be completed by 2050. the Mochovce nuclear power plant by The PHARE nuclear safety programme funded a review of Community experts. This review recommended a number of safety-related measures, which have been implemented. Non-safety recommendations resulting from this review in view of aligning the Mochovce practices to western standards should be implemented by 2001. The operator (Slovenske Elektrarne) is responsible for the implementation of the recommendations. UJD is responsible for the monitoring of the implementation. It is an independent body responsible for nuclear safety in the Slovak Republic. The Slovak ministry of Health is responsible for radio-protection. Technical inspections of all equipment of a nuclear power plant not directly related to nuclear safety are carried out under the responsibility of the Safety labour inspectorate from the Slovak ministry of Labour