Greater Transparency

in Nuclear Energy
– the EESC in action –

TEN, Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society
 1. A word from János Tóth, President of the TEN section 3

2. The road to ENEF (the European Nuclear Energy Forum) 4

3. Towards transparency 4

4. Nuclear energy in the opinions of the EESC 5

5. Beyond information and communication 7

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1. A word from János Tóth, President of the TEN section
At a time when all around the world people are speaking of a nuclear renaissance,
it seems vital to take a look at how European social and economic actors view the
nuclear industry and the opportunities and risks involved in this type of energy
production, not to mention the expectations regarding their involvement in the
decisions leading to the construction and management of nuclear plants. Unless
proper efforts are made to inform and involve European civil society, initiatives for
promoting greater nuclear capacity could face major obstacles associated with
insufficient support and endorsement. This would severely limit the capacity of
nuclear energy to contribute to climate change mitigation, which is claimed to be
the main asset of this energy form by their enthusiastic promoters.

At the end of the first meeting of the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) held
in Bratislava on 26 and 27 November 2007, the European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC) was asked by the European Commission to chair the ENEF
“Transparency” Working Group. This WG aims to examine ways to better inform
the public objectively about all aspects of nuclear energy and to provide clear,
easily accessible information on the existing solutions for waste management. The
bi-annual ENEF meetings offer a favourable environment for discussing key issues
on the future development of nuclear energy in the EU. European civil society’s
participation in the process is a major element of the ENEF’s success. The EESC
assumes a neutral role by creating the appropriate conditions for promoting more
and better dialogue between all the actors concerned.

The EESC has been directly involved in the re-launched European debate on
nuclear energy, and several of its Members have had the opportunity to stress the
need for more transparency and broader participation. Through its Members, who
represent an active and competent network of inter-twined organisations, the EESC
has a key role to play in ensuring that European civil society is adequately involved
in the transparency effort.

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 2. The road to ENEF
At the beginning of the 21st century, energy has become one of the most
challenging issues facing Europe. Demand for energy is increasing each year. The
gas crisis in January 2009, the oil price peak in summer 2008 and the electricity
blackouts affecting thousands of European citizens have made unmistakably clear
that Europe needs a rapid and profound revolution of its energy system if it is to
supply safe, affordable and environmentally sound energy to its citizens and its
economy.

In recent years, the European Commission has launched several initiatives, at policy
and research level, in order to respond to these challenges. The three core objectives
for European energy policy are competitiveness, sustainable development and
security of supply.

At the European Summit of 8th and 9th March 2007, the European Council agreed
on a comprehensive European energy policy action plan and adopted ambitious
goals in the field of global climate protection. The Summit endorsed the Commission’s
proposal to organise a broad discussion among all relevant stakeholders on the
opportunities and risks of nuclear energy. The European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF),
which was created in the wake of the Summit, aims to set up a new platform for such
dialogue and debate with a wide range of stakeholders in the field of nuclear energy.

3. Towards transparency
ENEF discusses important subjects such as harmonized safety standards,
requirements of a modern electricity grid, pricing models for nuclear energy and
transparency in nuclear projects. It is organized into 3 working groups. The working
group tasked with promoting improved transparency of nuclear energy aims to
trigger a shift from a ‘culture of silence’ to a ‘culture of active information’.

This should become a priority for all key actors in the nuclear community in order
to build trust and mutual understanding. To this effect, ENEF supports the efforts,
already initiated by the Commission, to facilitate the distribution of objective and
reliable information. It also develops appropriate consultative processes in the
nuclear field, building in particular on municipalities with nuclear facilities and local
information commissions.
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4. Nuclear energy in the opinions of the EESC
The advisory role of the EESC in the nuclear domain
is formally established by the EURATOM Treaty
(principally the article 31). The Commission must
request the opinion of the European Economic
and Social Committee:

• on basic standards for the protection of

the health of workers and the general
public against the dangers arising from
ionizing radiations (article 31),
• on periodically published illustrative
programmes indicating in particular
nuclear energy production targets and all
the types of investment required for their
attainment (article 40),
• on setting up schools, within the framework of
the Joint Nuclear Research Centre, for the training of
specialists, particularly in the fields of prospecting for minerals,
the production of high purity nuclear materials, the processing of irradiated
fuels, nuclear engineering, health and safety and the production and use of
radioisotopes (article 9).

In addition, the Commission shall keep the European Economic and Social
Committee informed of the broad outlines of Community research and training
programmes (article 7).

The EESC has adopted a large number of opinions in this area, leading to substantial
and relevant recommendations.

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 The EESC Section dealing with Transport, Energy,
Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN)
has been entrusted with following nuclear
energy policy; it also plays an active role in
the work of the “European Nuclear Energy
Forum” (ENEF).

Looking essentially at recent opinions,

the EESC adopted in 2007 an opinion
on the Commission’s so-called PINC
(Nuclear Illustrative Programme) report.
This opinion stressed some particular
issues, such as the need for the EU to
develop the highest possible standards
for safety, security and non-proliferation (as
required by the Euratom Treaty), the terrorism
threat, the availability of cooling water for some
plants, problem of ageing power stations, and the
importance of maintaining efforts on education, training
and research.

In December 2008, the EESC adopted an exploratory opinion on “Future investment

in nuclear energy” at the request of the EC Commissioner in charge of energy,
Mr Andris Piebalgs, who thanked the EESC for its opinion and highlighted
that the second Strategic Energy Review largely took into account the EESC
recommendations.

This opinion focused on the importance of investments for maintaining the safety
and security of nuclear plants, which in turn is crucial for securing public and political
acceptance of the industry’s long-term future. It is necessary to have transparent
and participatory decision-making process, with complete information, including a
comparison of the internal and external costs of different energy sources.

In 2009, the EESC will adopt an opinion on “Setting up a Community framework for
nuclear safety” following the recent proposal by the Commission of a Directive on
Nuclear Safety.

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5. Beyond information and communication
A major conference on the vision of European civil society on nuclear energy was
organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in collaboration
with the European Commission on 26 January 2009, as part of the ongoing energy
debate and the ENEF discussions.

The conference aimed to stimulate dialogue on the key issues surrounding the
future development of nuclear energy in the EU. It brought together experts,
political decision-makers, social and economic players from both the national and
the European level as well as “European citizens” and sought to find answers to the
following questions:

• What are civil society’s perceptions on the economic and social impacts of
nuclear energy?
• What are civil society’s expectations in terms of transparency of nuclear energy?
• How should civil society be involved in decision-making on nuclear energy?
• What is the role of civil society in the implementation of the Aarhus convention?

A key message from the conference was that there is agreement on the need for
transparency in the way nuclear energy is used and managed in the EU, but there is
disagreement on the way how this transparency should be achieved.

For anti-nuclear energy campaigners, the argument that nuclear energy is “carbon
free” and therefore a global warming solution, fails to account for the entire nuclear
fuel cycle. Public acceptance could be largely improved if the positive role of nuclear
energy was clearly demonstrated and better communicated.” They criticized that
there is no form of public and inclusive decision-making in the nuclear energy
domain.

Pro-nuclear energy campaigners supporting the expansion of the global nuclear

energy industry argued that nuclear energy is as “carbon-free” as any of the other
low-carbon energy options like renewables when accounting for the whole
systems, and that it is vital to address the risks of climate change, the increasing
demand for base load energy, and the security of energy supply.

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