Regulation 2013/1368 - Union support for the nuclear decommissioning assistance programmes in Bulgaria and Slovakia - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 346/1

According to the Protocol concerning the conditions and arrangements for admission of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union (2), Bulgaria committed itself to the closure of units 1 and 2 and units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant by 31 December 2002 and 31 December 2006 respectively, and to the subsequent decommissioning of those units. In line with its obligations, Bulgaria shut down all units concerned within the respective deadlines.

According to Protocol No 9 on unit 1 and unit 2 of the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant in Slovakia (3) attached to the 2003 Act of Accession, Slovakia committed itself to the closure of unit 1 and unit 2 of the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant by 31 December 2006 and 31 December 2008 respectively, and to the subsequent decommissioning of those units. In line with its obligations, Slovakia shut down all units concerned within the respective deadlines.

In line with their obligations under the Accession Treaty and with Union assistance, Bulgaria and Slovakia have closed the Kozloduy and Bohunice V1 nuclear power plants and have made significant progress towards their decommissioning. Further work is necessary in order to continue the progress with the actual decontamination, dismantling, management of spent fuel and radioactive waste operations and to implement the steady process towards the decommissioning end state in accordance with the respective decommissioning plans, whilst ensuring that the highest safety standards are applied. Based on the available estimates, completion of the decommissioning work will require substantial additional financial resources.

The premature shutdown and consequent decommissioning of the Bohunice VI nuclear power plant with two WWER 440 V 230 type units with an overall capacity of 880 MW has resulted, besides social and energy implications, in a significant financial burden of direct and indirect costs for Slovakia.

The premature shutdown and consequent decommissioning of four WWER 440 V 230 type units of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant with an overall capacity of 1 760 MW has imposed a heavy long-term burden on Bulgarian citizens in terms of energy, economic, environmental and social implications.

The Union has committed to assist Bulgaria and Slovakia in addressing the exceptional financial burden imposed by the decommissioning process. Since the pre-accession period, Bulgaria and Slovakia have received substantial financial support from the Union, notably through the Kozloduy and Bohunice programmes established for the period 2007 - 2013. The Union financial support under those programmes will end in 2013.

Following the request for further funding from Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia, provision has been made in the Commission proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework for the period 2014-2020: ‘A Budget for Europe 2020’ for an amount of EUR 700 million from the general budget of the Union for nuclear safety and decommissioning. From this, the amount of EUR 500 million in 2011 prices, which is approximately EUR 553 million in current prices, is foreseen for a new programme to further support the decommissioning...