Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1368/2013 of 13 December 2013 on Union support for the nuclear decommissioning assistance programmes in Bulgaria and Slovakia, and repealing Regulations (Euratom) No 549/2007 and (Euratom) No 647/2010
Corrected by
Corrigendum to Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1368/2013 of 13 December 2013 on Union support for the nuclear decommissioning assistance programmes in Bulgaria and Slovakia, and repealing Regulations (Euratom) No 549/2007 and (Euratom) No 647/2010, 32013R1368R(01), January 11, 2014
Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1368/2013of 13 December 2013on Union support for the nuclear decommissioning assistance programmes in Bulgaria and Slovakia, and repealing Regulations (Euratom) No 549/2007 and (Euratom) No 647/2010THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 203 thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European ParliamentOpinion of 19 November 2013 (not yet published in the Official Journal).,Whereas:(1)According to the Protocol concerning the conditions and arrangements for admission of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European UnionOJ L 157, 21.6.2005, p. 29., 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.(2)According to Protocol No 9 on unit 1 and unit 2 of the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant in SlovakiaOJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 954. 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.(3)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.(4)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.(5)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 1760 MW has imposed a heavy long-term burden on Bulgarian citizens in terms of energy, economic, environmental and social implications.(6)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.(7)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 860 million in 2011 prices, which is approximately EUR 969 million in current prices, is foreseen for a new programme to further support the decommissioning of the Bohunice V1 units 1 and 2, the Ignalina units 1 and 2 and the Kozloduy units 1 to 4 for the period from 2014 to 2020.(8)The amount of the appropriations allocated to the Kozloduy and Bohunice programmes, as well as the programming period and the distribution of funds amongst the Kozloduy, Bohunice and Ignalina programmes may be reviewed based on the results of the mid-term and the final evaluation reports.(9)The support pursuant to this Regulation should ensure the seamless continuation of decommissioning and concentrate on measures to implement the steady process towards the decommissioning end state, whilst ensuring that the highest safety standards are applied, as such measures bring the greatest Union added value, while the ultimate responsibility for nuclear safety remains with the Member States concerned. This Regulation does not prejudge the outcome of any future State aid procedures that may be undertaken in accordance with Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).(10)This Regulation is without prejudice to the rights and obligations of the Member States concerned under the Accession Treaties, in particular under the Protocols referred to in recitals 1 and 2.(11)The decommissioning of the nuclear power plants covered by this Regulation should be carried out with recourse to the best available technical expertise, and with due regard to the nature and technological specifications of the units to be shut down, in order to ensure the highest possible efficiency, thus taking into account international best practices.(12)The activities covered by this Regulation and the operations which they support should comply with applicable Union and national law. The decommissioning of the nuclear power plants covered by this Regulation should be carried out in accordance with the legislation on nuclear safety, namely Council Directive 2009/71/EuratomCouncil Directive 2009/71/Euratom of 25 June 2009 establishing a Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations (OJ L 172, 2.7.2009, p. 18)., waste management, namely Council Directive 2011/70/EuratomCouncil Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011 establishing a Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste (OJ L 199, 2.8.2011, p. 48)., and the environment, in particular Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilDirective 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114). and Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the CouncilDirective 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, p. 1)..(13)The activities covered by this Regulation and the operations which they support should be based on an up–to–date decommissioning plan covering the decommissioning activities, their associated schedule, costs and required human resources. The costs should be established according to internationally recognised standards for the estimation of decommissioning costs, such as, for example, the International Structure for Decommissioning Costing jointly published by the Nuclear Energy Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Commission.(14)An effective control of the evolution of the decommissioning process should be ensured by the Commission in order to assure the highest Union added value of the funding allocated under this Regulation, although the final responsibility for the decommissioning rests with the Member States concerned. This includes the measurement of effective performance and the assessment of corrective measures during the programme concerned.(15)The financial interests of the Union should be protected through proportionate measures throughout the expenditure cycle, including the prevention, detection and investigation of irregularities, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, penalties.(16)Since the objectives of this Regulation, in particular as regards the provisions for adequate financial resources for the continuation of safe decommissioning, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.(17)Certain measures under the Kozloduy and Bohunice programmes may require a high level of financing from the Union, which may, in well–founded exceptional cases, amount to the full amount of the funding. However, every effort should be made to continue the co-financing practice established under the pre-accession assistance and the assistance provided over the period 2007-2013 for the decommissioning efforts of Bulgaria and Slovakia, as well as to attract co-financing from other sources as appropriate.(18)In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards the adoption of annual work programmes and detailed implementation procedures. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13)..(19)Council Regulation (Euratom) No 549/2007Council Regulation (Euratom) No 549/2007 of 14 May 2007 on the implementation of Protocol No 9 on Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant in Slovakia to the Act concerning the conditions of accession to the European Union of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (OJ L 131, 23.5.2007, p. 1). and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 647/2010Regulation (Euratom) No 647/2010 of the Council of 13 July 2010 on financial assistance of the Union with respect to the decommissioning of Units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria (Kozloduy Programme) (OJ L 189, 22.7.2010, p. 9). should be repealed.(20)Due account was taken of the Court of Auditors' Special report No 16/2011 on EU financial assistance for the decommissioning of nuclear plants in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia, its recommendations and the reply from the Commission,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: