Nuclear safety, Chernobyl: implementation of the Shelter Fund. 2nd report

PURPOSE: to present a proposal for a Council Decision on a second contribution of the European Community to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. CONTENT: the Chernoybl Shelter Fund provides a powerful tool to assist the Ukraine in resolving the safety risks posed by the ruins of the ill-fated Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In 1997, the G7 Nuclear Safety Working Group outlined and finalised a plan, designated as the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP), to identify tasks to be executed over a period of 8-10 years to secure and stabilise the sarcophagus. In November 1997, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) set up the Chernobyl Shelther Fund (CSF). The first pledge to the Fund was made by the European Commission in 1997. Payments of EUR 50 million and EUR 40.5 million were made in 1999 and 2000. In the new Tacis Regulation covering the period 2000-2006, the support to 'relevant EU supported international initiatives such as the G7/EU initiative on the closure of Chernobyl' is explicitly mentioned as a priority action'. As the rules governing the SIP are not consistent with the rules applicable under the Tacis Regulation, it is necessary to establish a separate legal basis for the Community contribution so as to accomodate the Fund rules, as was the case for Council Decision 98/381/EC, Euratom. Against this background, the objective of the proposal is to solicit a Council decision for the second Community contribution of EUR 100 million pledged at the second pledging conference held in July 2000 in Berlin.�