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Temlin
Peace Called in Temelin Reactor Struggle
BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 4, 2001 (ENS) - A long standing dispute between Austria and the Czech Republic over the Czech nuclear power plant at Temelín has been resolved after the Czechs agreed to be legally bound to introduce a series of safety improvements.
In return, Austria said it would drop its threat to oppose the Czech Republic's entry into the European Union on environmental grounds.
Protesters in front of the unfinished Temelin reactor, 1998 (Photo courtesy For Mother Earth)
The Czech Republic is one of more than a dozen eastern European countries that are trying to meet the requirements to join the European Union's current 15 member states.
Based on safety concerns, Austria was prepared to veto European Union (EU) approval of the Czech Republic's energy "chapter" in the EU accession negotiations.
The deal was reached by Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Czech Premier Milos Zeman yesterday, at a meeting in Brussels brokered by EU Enlargment Commissioner Günther Verheugen. Prague appears to have come off better in the accord, with the political threat to commercial operation of the plant removed and the country's accession no longer endangered.
Under the agreement, the Czech government will implement a series of changes recommended by the EU's Atomic Questions Group, which assesses nuclear safety in accession countries using reports from member states' nuclear regulators.
It will also comply with the results of an environmental impact assessment of the site last February.
The agreement will be transformed into a protocol to be attached to the country's accession treaty with the EU. This means both countries will have recourse to the European Court of Justice if the agreement is broken. To become part of the treaty, the protocol must also be approved by other EU member states.
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Tom Savin
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