Nuclear energy: safety of installations, basic obligations and general principles

The committee adopted the report by Esko Olavi SEPPÄNEN (EUL/NGL, FIN) amending the proposal under the consultation procedure: - a new article should be added to the directive clarifying the question of responsibilities: responsibility for the safety of nuclear installations shall rest with the Member State having jurisdiction over the nuclear installation concerned, but Member States shall ensure that the "prime responsibility" for the safety of a nuclear installation rests with the licence holder under the control of their regulatory bodies, "in particular with regard to the control of the installation and to the individual measures related to it". Member States should therefore ensure that each licence holder meets its responsibilities; - it should be specified that any transfer of new competences from the national authorities to the Commission should be submitted for approval as legislation, given that the proposed directive is not a framework directive and the Commission is not planning any other new directives; - a new provision should be added ringfencing the funds built up for decommissioning so that they cannot be used for any other purpose and are guaranteed in the event of the operator's bankruptcy; - the Commission should order reviews of regulatory bodies, to be carried out according to a peer review mechanism. A report should be drawn up by the review team within three months of the review and forwarded to the Member State concerned, which would then have three months in which to submit comments and indicate the measures taken to remedy any shortcomings.�