19 Nov (NucNet): Members of the European Parliament today approved financial aid of 860 million euros (EUR) (about 1.1 billion US dollars) to help Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia complete the decommissioning of eight reactor units at the Kozloduy, Ignalina and Bohunice nuclear power plants.
The European Parliament said EUR 260 million would be available for Kozloduy, EUR 400 million for Ignalina and EUR 200 million for Bohunice.
To qualify for the aid the three countries will need to meet conditions, including fully transposing Europe’s Nuclear Safety Directive into their national laws and submitting detailed decommissioning plans to the European Commission.
MEPs said the decommissioning plans should include information on anticipated decommissioning projects, specific milestones and proposals on long-term co-financing.
According to the European Parliament, the plants are too dated and could not be cost-effectively upgraded to meet the minimum required safety standards.
The financial aid, which covers the budget period from 2014 to 2020, will extend EU financial support to complete the decommissioning of Kozloduy units 1 to 4 in Bulgaria, Ignalina units 1 and 2 in Lithuania and Bohunice units 1 and 2 in Slovakia. All eight units are already permanently shut down as a condition of the three countries’ entry into the EU.
A report by the European Court of Auditors in February 2012 said the completion of decommissioning work at the eight units faced a significant funding shortfall of around EUR 2.5 billion.
The report said that while Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia have closed the eight reactors in line with requirements for EU accession, and important milestones have been achieved in decommissioning, most of the decommissioning work has not yet been carried out and major infrastructure projects face delays and cost overruns.
The European Parliament called on the European Commission to ensure that the conditions for an “effective, efficient and economical use of EU funds” are in place.
The Parliament said: “Objectives must be aligned with the budget made available and to the establishment of meaningful performance indicators, which can be monitored and reported on as necessary.”
MEPs are proposing that the Commission should review the performance of the three decommissioning programmes and assess their progress by the end of 2017.
The proposal to grant the aid still needs to be adopted by the EU Council of Ministers.
