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The decision of the European Court of Justice to bring an action for annulment concerning the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the Republic of Austria: The EURATOM contract as a ground for rejecting the action
Sima after the ECJ ruling on Hinkley Point: "Abolition of late EURATOM"
The European Court dismissed the action brought by Austria and Luxembourg against the British nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C. They complained because the British government wants to finance the construction of the nuclear reactor with the Taxpayers' money up to 108 billion euros. Greenpeace is now calling on the Austrian Federal Government to appeal the verdict. After all, nuclear energy is not only dangerous, it can not be financed without taxpayer money.
This is completely incomprehensible for Vienna's environmental advisor, Ulli Sima. "The unilateral preference for a form of energy, namely nuclear energy, is absolutely unacceptable and therefore has to apply to renewable energies." If the current decision is now justified by the EURATOM contract, then, according to Sima, this can only mean that this contract of the 1950s must be abolished immediately. "It is a relic of the founding days of the EU and absolutely obsolete because it notes the unilateral promotion of lethal nuclear energy, a form of energy that is absolutely not profitable with subsidies and subsidies maintained, "said Sima. Here is measured with two different measures. Sima calls on the federal government to systematically continue the antinuclear course that he took and to appeal the verdict.
The Hinkley Point C nuclear project is likely to become the most expensive power station in the world. There are already four reactors on the Hinkley Point site, blocks A1 and A2 were shut down in 2000. The two still-ongoing B1 and B2 blocks are high-risk reactors, since they are already older than 30 years old. In 2013, permission was granted to build two more reactors. The nuclear project must be largely financed by British taxpayers.
The factory planned by the French public company EDF with a Chinese company is expected to be commissioned in 2025. It is the first reactor building in the UK for about two decades. In July 2015, the red-black Austrian government complained about the European Commission's decision to approve aid for the construction project of a nuclear power plant and thereby distort competition in the market electricity for nuclear power. "It is completely incomprehensible that this distortion is acceptable for the European Commission," says Sima.
Using Brexit to convict EURATOM
The EURATOM treaty is an obvious anachronism since the early days of the European Union: on many occasions, this contract is used by the European Commission to badert that the development of nuclear energy is a goal of interest Joint EU Authorization of state aid to the British nuclear power plant Commission Hinkley Point C of 8.10.2014 and again for the approval of aid from State in favor of the Hungarian nuclear power plant Paks II of 6.3.2017 (1). The request for annulment of the Republic of Austria (Article 263 TFEU) against the Hinkley Point Decision argues that the authorization based on a "common interest in nuclear power" is an erroneous contractual basis – the Treaty EURATOM is not the same as Lisbon Treaty of the European Union.
"The judges of the European Court and the European Commission obviously do not want to recognize this important difference between the obsolete atomic energy contract and the Lisbon Treaty of the European Union, according to which the energy nuclear power is not a common interest of the Union ". Atomic spokesperson of GLOBAL 2000. "In a Europe where only 13 of the 27 member states will operate nuclear reactors in 2019, three of which have a firm decision to nuclear disposal, nuclear energy can not be a common interest, just a liquidation and integration of EURATOM The necessary control bodies in the existing structures of the European Commission can put an end to the indescribable primacy of nuclear subsidies, on which the Commission supports itself over and over again The EU must not become an atomic union that openly promotes the promotion of high-risk technologies with taxpayer money. "
GLOBAL 2000 welcomes the explicit mention in the Austrian Government's program of a revision of the EURATOM Treaty, as well as the program of the German Government. "We call on the government to take advantage of the UK BREXIT exit and the withdrawal of the BREXATOM badociated with the EURATOM treaty as an opportunity to urgently form international alliances for a treaty conference to end the treaty," said Lorenz . "We badume that the Republic of Austria will appeal this judgment."
A bad decision
Austrian MEP Lukas Mandl comments: "We can not tolerate this bad decision and I fully support the Austrian government when it appeals this decision." Nuclear energy is not just a green form of energy and a risk of fire As shown by the state aid completely disconnected from Britain, without which the Hinkley Point C hauler could never be operated profitably. Green energy comes from renewable sources, as constantly shown in Austria. "
EURATOM must be dissolved in its present form!
"It was to be expected that a EUG decision based on the EURATOM Treaty would be the same as in the Hinkley Point C case. This is the basic principle of the EC Treaty. European to provide nuclear energy with the advantages it has for the market economy The nuclear industry in Europe can only survive if it is protected by an economic sector – and this is the only way to save money. is exactly what EURATOM wants! It is the goal of the treaty! "said Gabriele Schweiger and Roland Egger, spokesperson for atomstopp_oberoesterreich.
"While we have welcomed the fact that Austria, as a spearhead, has complained to the European Commission of its decision to allow Britain's direct subsidies for the construction of a new nuclear reactor, we were skeptical from the beginning on the primary law, so to speak about the constitutionally protected principles, what can it get out of it other than a decision pro atomic? ", Schweiger and Egger put in the room.
"In any case, the verdict has clearly demonstrated that the EURATOM treaty is not formulated in the public interest and must therefore be adapted to the requirements of social reality without delay, and this reality has long been rejected by the majority of nuclear energy, "said Schweiger and Egger
Greenpeace calls on the government to appeal
"The European Court has missed the opportunity to ban nuclear energy in history books," said Adam Pawloff, anti-nuclear spokesman for Greenpeace in Austria. "The Austrian government must resolutely continue its fight against the nuclear lobby and appeal the verdict, and taxpayers can not be forced to pay in cash to finance high-risk outdated technologies that would not otherwise exist on the market. of electricity. "
The basic data is shocking: according to a study by Greenpeace Energy, for example, a wind alternative with at least the same power and security of supply would cost about seven billion euros less than the subsidies provided for Hinkley Point C. "If the European Court of Justice is not ready to seal the end of nuclear energy, it will probably do it on the market, and the clean energy and Cheap sun, wind and water will be unavoidable, "said Mr. Pawloff. : Political Judgment of the ECJ on Appeal
LR Anschober, from Upper Austria, comments: "This misjudgment is a disappointing failure, but we will continue our commitment to nuclear elimination on a European scale with many allies and especially the European market. of energy because consumers will receive billions of subsidies. For a high risk technology and economic conditions planned to slow the market can not be long – they pay most of the bill for a unilateral preference for nuclear energy and a lifting of the law on competition.
Anschober continues: "It's completely paradoxical: the Hinkley Point operators are contractually guaranteed for 35 years a guaranteed purchase price for nuclear energy, which is more than double the current price of the market to be compatible? "
Austria to declare revision of EURATOM Treaty a major concern
"It is hoped that Austria will oppose this decision and, as stated in the government program, work actively to amend the EURATOM Treaty and continue to put an end to the incredible preference for this high-risk technology. ", notes Stefan Moidl, General Manager IG Windkraft.
The majority of European countries without nuclear power
With the departure of Britain, only 13 states of the European Community use nuclear energy. This means that a majority of Member States have already decided not to use nuclear energy in the EU. This will become even clearer in the coming years with the end of the use of nuclear energy in Germany and in other states. "It is time to end the preference for this high-risk technology and to reflect these changes in the EU's legal regulations," says Moidl.
Like Germany, Austria anchored an amendment to the EURATOM treaty in the government program. "As a country that currently holds the presidency of the EU, Austria can also quickly change the legal basis and continue the nuclear course," adds Moidl, adding: "We hope for a clear signal from the Austrian Government ". Austria will fix the new conditions of the European electricity market in the next six months. Here too, the era of overexploitation of conventional power plants and in particular nuclear energy must be stopped. "We need a renewable energy Europe that says goodbye to obsolete nuclear, coal and gas supply, and we expect further clear action from the federal government to end nuclear power in Europe." ", says Moidl. nuclear energy
According to Michel Reimon, spokesman for the Green Party and co-delegation to the European Parliament: "Without public subsidies, there would simply be no new nuclear power plants in Europe." Nuclear energy remains expensive, unprofitable and unpredictable. At the expense of our security and our renewable future, it is hiding behind the Euratom Treaty. The Austrian Presidency and Minister of the Environment, Elisabeth Köstinger, must make the reform of the Euratom Treaty a priority in order to reorient the European energy policy against the nuclear lobby.
(1) "As acknowledged in the previous Commission, the Commission concludes that nuclear energy is a key objective of the Euratom Treaty, and therefore of the Union." p 70 5.3.3. Objective of common interest, (292). Commission Decision of 6.3.17 on the measure / scheme of aid / State aid SA. 38454 – 2015 / C (es 2015 / N) published in the Official Journal of the EU 1.12 Hungary plans to implement the new nuclear reactors at the Paks II nuclear power station (Text with interest for EEA) published on 6/10/17. 17
Article Online Published by: / holler /
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