Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 31 Jan 1996

Vol. 460 No. 7

Written Answers - Euratom Treaties Review.

Eric J. Byrne

Ceist:

40 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the further progress, if any, that has been made regarding securing a review of the Euratom Treaties in order to take account of the legitimate concerns of non-nuclear jurisdictions sharing land or maritime borders with nuclear jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2011/96]

Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications (Mr. Lowry)

The Government's policy agreement, A Government of Renewal, sets out the Government's commitment to seeking an amendment and updating of Euratom. This is being pursued in the context of the Intergovernmental Conference which will consider amendments to the Treaty on European Union.

In June 1994, the European Council meeting at Corfu established a reflection group to prepare for the Intergovernmental Conference to be held in 1996. The reflection group presented its report to the EU Heads of State and Government in December 1995. Ireland succeeded in having a reference to strengthening the nuclear safety provisions of the Euratom Treaty included in the report.

Any amendment to the Euratom Treaty will require the unanimous agreement of all member states. Such unanimity will be difficult to achieve given the opposition of certain member states to any review of Euratom and given the significant dependence of almost half the member states on the use of nuclear power for electricity generation and security of energy supply. Also, while Ireland has rejected the nuclear option, some member states see it as a cheap and environmentally friendly way of generating electricity, particularly in the context of CO2 abatement strategy.

Notwithstanding the obvious institutional and substantive difficulties facing us in seeking to have the Euratom Treaty amended, I will continue the effort to have the Government's concerns about the safety of nuclear power taken seriously by our European Union partners with a view to having improvements to the health and safety provisions of Euratom debated by the Intergovernmental Conference. I will also continue to take all practical steps in relevant international fora to highlight our concerns.