The European Commission offered
Thursday an additional EUR500 million in European Union aid for Bulgaria,
Lithuania and Slovakia to put Soviet-era nuclear reactors out of service for
good.
The three EU states closed down the reactors as part of their deals to join the
European Union, but Brussels wants to ensure that the power plants are forever
sealed off.
"It is in our citizens' interest that these reactors will be safely
decommissioned and that they will never be restarted again," said EU
energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger.
"This additional financial support will help the three Member States to
timely progress in defueling and decommissioning of these nuclear
reactors."
The funds will help the three former communist states continue the safe
decommissioning of the nuclear power plants known as Kozloduy in Bulgaria,
Ignalina in Lithuania, and Bohunice in Slovakia.
"The Union assistance for decommissioning of nuclear power plants aims at
reaching an irreversible state in the decommissioning process and eliminating
the major source of radiological hazard," the commission said.
The three nations must fufill certain conditions before getting the EU funds,
including fully implementing EU legislation on nuclear safety and the
management of nuclear waste.
They must also create legal frameworks to raise the resources needed to cover
the remaining financial needs so that they can gradually take over financial
responsibility, the commission said.
The EU has committed EUR2.85 billion in financial assistance until 2013. The
additional EUR500 million would come in from 2014.
Lithuania will get an extra EUR210 million until 2017, Bulgaria will have
EUR185 million more until 2020 and Slovakia another EUR105 million until 2017.