European Union Makes New Proposal to Regulate Nuclear Safety

By Jonathan Stearns

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- European Union regulators revived a push for EU nuclear-safety rules by seeking common standards for the construction and operation of reactors, saying the industry’s growth requires steps to ease public anxiety about the risks.

The European Commission’s draft legislation is a scaled- back version of 2003 and 2004 proposals that were blocked because national governments opposed giving the EU a role over atomic safety. The new proposal aims to incorporate International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines into EU law, a step that would soothe public worries about the safety of nuclear power and bolster its development, the commission said.

“Member states will have a common reference framework for their respective national nuclear safety systems,” European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement today in Brussels. The draft law, which needs the support of national governments, comes as EU countries including the U.K., France and Finland prepare to expand nuclear power.

Nuclear energy accounts for about a third of electricity production in the EU. Practices for maintaining the security of nuclear plants differ across the region, including in poorer Eastern European countries that have joined the EU since 2004.

Romania, Lithuania and the U.K. plan to build new nuclear plants, while France and Finland are already doing so. These initiatives come as the EU seeks to reduce reliance on energy imports and curb emissions of greenhouse gases that are tied to fossil fuels and blamed for climate change.

The commission’s earlier nuclear-safety proposals that failed were broader and included provisions on issues such as nuclear-waste treatment and financing for the dismantling of plants.

The EU already has rules meant to ensure that the use of nuclear material at installations is for stated civil purposes. It’s up to EU governments to decide whether to use nuclear power.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net