PURPOSE: to establish the nuclear decommissioning assistance programme of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania (Ignalina programme).
PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being obliged to follow the opinion of the latter.
BACKGROUND: in the context of its accession to the European Union, Lithuania made a commitment to close and subsequently decommission two nuclear reactors of the same type as in Chernobyl in the Ignalina nuclear power plant. As an act of solidarity with Lithuania, the European Union committed itself, through Lithuania's Accession Treaty, to providing adequate financial assistance for the decommissioning of Ignalina nuclear power plant.
The Ignalina programme has the general objective of assisting Lithuania in managing the radiological safety challenges of the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant.
The programme's mid-term evaluation concluded that the current programme is coherent with EU policies aiming at ensuring the highest level of nuclear safety. Lithuania has progressed effectively and efficiently in the decommissioning of its reactors in line with the baseline agreed in 2014 (i.e. decommissioning plan). The analysis also demonstrated that substantially improved levels of safety are going to be achieved at the site as a result of the Union funding in this multiannual financial framework.
The programme has been conducted through several financial periods and will be finalised by 2038. The Commission considers that the programme is expected to meet important milestones with the funding provided in this multiannual financial framework (2014-2020). However, substantial amounts are still required in order to address the remaining key radiological safety issues related to its decommissioning. Beyond 2020, the raising of additional funds needed until 2038 for the decommissioning of Ignalina nuclear power plant calls for a careful follow-up as the financing gap is sizable (EUR 1331 million).
CONTENT: the draft regulation - presented for a Union of 27 Member States - establishes the nuclear decommissioning assistance programme of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania. It lays down the objectives of the Programme, the budget for the period 2021 – 2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.
The programme will focus in the next multiannual financial framework on radiological safety challenges of the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant where the greatest EU added value can be achieved (i.e. progressive decrease of the level of radiological hazard for the workers, the public and the environment in Lithuania but also in the EU as a whole).
The Programme has the specific objective of carrying out the dismantling and decontamination of the Ignalina equipment and reactor shafts in accordance with the decommissioning plan and disseminating the generated knowledge among EU stakeholders.
The proposal:
- sets out the level of shared effort between the EU and Lithuania in decommissioning the Ignalina nuclear power plant;
- sets a yearly ceiling for EU payment maximum Union co-financing rate at 80%;
- introduces a major simplification with respect to the current programme, i.e. the use of a multiannual work programme, which reflects the nature of decommissioning programmes;
- defines the process for the multiannual work programme revision over a period which is commensurate to the programme nature and provides the Commission with adequate tools to introduce corrective measures if necessary.
Budget: the financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2021 - 2027 shall be EUR 552 million in current prices.