Background

EU’s successive enlargements meant profound changes for the institutional environment in which FORATOM operates. Since the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU on 1 January 2007, the number of EU nations using nuclear energy has increased to 15 out of 27.Therefore new platforms were needed to facilitate building contacts with new key players within the EU institutions. They proved efficient in bringing together the politicians of the acceding countries with the stakeholders of the nuclear sector and the EU policy-makers. The Accession Task Force, which had been created in 1999, was transformed in 2004 into the New Member States Task Force. After six years of existence of the New Member States task Force, the integration of the 12 new EU Member States into the mainstream of Brussels nuclear activities has been achieved; however the issues that were in the remit of the aforementioned Task Force are as important as ever. Nuclear new build is under way or being planned in a number of EU countries, not just in the New Member States, and therefore it was decided to transform the Task Force into a New Build Task Force.

Latest Developments

In Europe six nuclear reactors are currently under construction: one in France, one in Finland, two in Slovakia and two in Bulgaria (source: IAEA PRIS website). Nuclear projects are in the pipeline in Finland, France, the UK, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, with new nuclear units to be completed by the 2020’s.

On 21 April 2010, the Finnish government announced that the Finnish government had given its "preliminary permission" to the Finnish utility TVO and to Fennovoima (a consortium including German utility E.On AG) to build two more nuclear reactors in the country. The French Presidency announced on 30 January 2009 that the construction of a European pressurised water reactor (EPR) will begin at Penly in 2012 and will be connected to the grid in 2017. In the United Kingdom, the new coalition government adopted revised draft National Policy Statements on energy . The statements recognize the essential role that nuclear has to play in ensuring energy supply along with other low-carbon energy sources by 2025 and confirm eight sites as suitable locations for nuclear new build. In March 2009 the Hungarian parliament approved a decision-in-principle that paves the way for construction of a new reactor unit at the country’s Paks nuclear power plant. Lithuania adopted on 6 October 2010 an updated version of its energy strategy that earmarks the construction of the Visaginas nuclear power plant (NPP) as one of the key elements to ensure security of energy supply. The new plant should come into commercial operation by 2018/2020.

To compensate for the loss of generating capacity due to the closure of Kozloduy‘s units 3 and 4, Bulgaria plans to build a 2000 megawatts nuclear power plant (NPP) at Belene by 2015-2016. On 3 September 2008, construction of Belene NPP was officially launched, but the project has suffered delays due to difficulties to finance the construction. The construction could resume in spring thanks to an agreement between Russia and Bulgaria. Romania is also moving ahead with nuclear new build in Cernavoda which Units 3 and 4 are due to be operational by 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Meanwhile the Swedish and Italian governments have reviewed their nuclear phase-out policy. In Italy, the government passed legislation to abolish the current moratorium on nuclear energy and intends to build new nuclear power plants (NPPs) by 2020. Some countries like the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany are choosing to extend their NPPs’ operational duration.

Others choose the nuclear option for the first time. The Polish Energy Policy up to 2025, approved by the Council of Ministers in January 2005, revealed the government's plans to build the country's first nuclear power plant by 2021-22.  Nuclear power will aim at helping Poland (whose energy generation is based mainly on coal) meet the increased electricity demand, reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure security of supply. The Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, confirmed these plans by announcing on 13 January 2009 that Poland had “adopted a Resolution on nuclear energy…and that by 2020 electricity will be generated by one or two nuclear power plants.”

FORATOM New Build Task Force

The New Build Task Force was created in January 2011 as a continuation of the New Member States Task Force whose mandate came to an end in 2010. 

The New Build Task Force continues to address the questions of new build planning, the boundary conditions of investment, investment notification under Euratom Treaty, siting and communication as well as public acceptance and involvement. The Task Force reinforces FORATOM as a platform for exchange of information on progress, best practices and business opportunities in countries with new build programmes or plans.

The missions assigned to the recently-created New Build Task Force include:

*          serving as a platform for information and best practice exchange on all issues surrounding nuclear new build

*          transferring of existing experience and lessons learned with regard to new build projects to FORATOM Members Countries with nuclear development plans

*          building consensus views among the Member Fora and FORATOM’s nuclear industry members, and advising the FORATOM Secretariat in its participation in various European policy debates

*          providing assistance to representatives of the Member Fora and nuclear industries in better understanding the Euratom Treaty, the Lisbon Treaty and the “Brussels-Luxembourg-Strasbourg labyrinth”, namely the structures, powers and procedures of the various European Institutions in order to support nuclear new build debates

*          bringing nuclear companies from countries with new build programmes or plans closer to the EU Institutions by facilitating contact-building with European Parliament and Commission officials and by creating new networking opportunities

*          providing information on social and political matters related to nuclear new build, such as investment boundary conditions, siting, communication and public involvement

*          attracting and engaging potential new partners interested in nuclear new build with the perspective to enlarge FORATOM membership

Links

European Commission DG Enlargement