Vol. 538 No. 3
104 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government supports the loans provided by EURATOM and the European Investment Bank to the nuclear industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13236/01]
Ireland is a signatory to the treaties establishing the European Communities, including the treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, EURATOM. Article 2(b) of the EURATOM Treaty states that the Community shall facilitate investment and ensure, particularly by encouraging ventures on the part of undertakings, the establishment of the basic installations necessary for the development of nuclear energy in the Community.
Council Decision 77/270/EURATOM empowers the Commission to approve loans for the purpose of contributing to the financing of nuclear power plants in the Community. Council Decision 94/179/EURATOM permitted the Commission to offer similar loans for power plants in ten states of central and eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Armenia and Ukraine. This activity now comprises the bulk of EURATOM's new lending.
Ireland is a full member of the European Atomic Energy Community and we participate in the main EURATOM committees. The Government's policy is to ensure that EURATOM's activities in regard to the nuclear industry are directed towards nuclear safety and radiological protection, rather than towards the expansion of the nuclear energy sector. Ireland is obliged to meet its commitments under the EU treaties, including the EURATOM treaty which specifically provides for investment in nuclear facilities. Through our participation, however, we aim to emphasise the nuclear safety imperative, and to seek a shift away from efforts towards support or expansion of the nuclear energy sector.
The European Investment Bank – EIB – does not make loans to the nuclear sector. EIB involvement in this area is restricted to the administration of EURATOM loans which it does under mandate from the Commission and the provision to the Commission of opinions on the economic and financial aspects of individual proposals. These opinions are strictly limited to the economic and financial area.
