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Les Entretiens européens, the
conference held on 25th November 2005 at the Centre des Congrès of Reims,
attracted 160 delegates from the regions of Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne and
from eight European countries, who came to talk with the European Commission and
the French parliamentarians in charge of this issue. In doing so, they joined
the national public debate that has been launched in the run-up to the decision
to be taken in 2006. Here is a
summary of a few of the most salient points.
-
The European Union is still well on track. François Lamoureux, Director
of Energy and Transport at the European Commission, reaffirmed the aim to
achieve a European framework for the management of nuclear waste, backed up by
national commitments and a set timetable. The DGTREN has plans for a joint
undertaking similar to Galileo, to share expertise and costs. But Simon
Webster, from DG Research, referred to “Technology Platforms”, which us
a different concept, in the 7th Framework Research & Development Programme
(FP7).
-
In the Meuse/Haute-Marne region, opponents of the geological disposal of nuclear
waste have launched their offensive. According to Jean-Luc Bouzon,
“county councillor” (conseiller general) in Haute-Marne, they have
collected 51,000 signatures from people demanding a local referendum before any
decision is reached. However, Christian Bataille, M.P. for Nord and
author of the 1991 law, believes that the management of nuclear waste is a
national decision and that a local referendum on this issue is
anti-constitutional. Can politicians and the Government refuse to accede to the
request from these petitioners? How will they take account of the requests for
discussions tabled by players such as ANCLI represented at the conference by Michel
Demet and Mutadis represented by Serge Gadbois, or the requests from François
Rollinger of the CFDT union and Ghislain de Marsily, Professor of
Geology and member of the CNE, to become involved in the process?
-
Would it not be preferable for France to adopt a partnership attitude based on
the experiences of European and Canadian partners? Peter Haug from
Germany, Torsten Carlsson from Sweden, Thomas Flüeler from
Switzerland, Angelo Castellan from Canada, Romana Jordan Cizelj
from Slovenia and Robert Leclere from Belgium all stated that the general
public could be more effectively involved in decision-making. As to Kathryn
Shaver, from Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organisation, and Evelyn
Hooft, from Ondraf in Belgium, they proved that it was possible to involve
the man in the street in an integrated local project.
This
is all the more possible given that this third Entretiens européens
conference provided an opportunity to look at the prospects for local
development in Meuse and Haute-Marne, based on the Bure research laboratory on
the feasibility of geological disposal.
The
example of La Hague and Flamanville described by Claude Gatignol, M.P.
for Manche, gave greater credibility to the possibility of development.
-
Claude Fischer, Director of Les Entretiens européens,
asked about the future of the Laboratory and questioned whether or not the
stakeholders intended to create a European centre of excellence based on the
research work involved in the management of nuclear waste and new energy
technologies such as biomass which, as the conference was reminded by Daniel
Collard from Cristal Union, already constitutes one of the dimensions of the
competitiveness cluster in Reims.
-
François-Michel Gonnot, President of Andra and M.P. for Oise, admitted
that the local development that was supposed to result from the Laboratory is
not noticeable. He stated that the system of aid described in the 1991 Bataille
Law was “in need of complete renegotiation” and should be included in the
future legislation. He sees the Laboratory itself as an opportunity for
development and new jobs – and this would be even more so if the disposal
facility was built (500 to 800 jobs on site). As to the energy producers (AREVA,
CEA and EDF represented by Jean-Guy Devezeaux, Philippe Pradel and
Bernard Dupraz respectively), they declared themselves ready to commit to
sustainable development as part of a territorial contract with local players.
It
was shown by Rolf Linkohr, a German nuclear physicist and former Member
of the European Parliament, that waste management is an essential part of modern
industrial practices, based on recycling. Far from becoming a “dustbin”, the
region could become a new “land for life”, said François Dosé, M.P.
for Meuse.
-
In his summing-up, Philippe Herzog, President of Confrontations Europe,
underlined the French tendency to ignore and reject the good practices
implemented by other European countries, a tendency which he sees as a symptom
of the crisis facing French democracy at the present time. He deplored a
legislative process which deprives citizens and communities of choice and
responsibility and proposed conditions for more active involvement on the part
of the general public in the decision-making process. He invited stakeholders to
consider the management of nuclear waste as a new starting point for dynamic
industrial development.
Les
Entretiens
européens were launched in 2003 to provide information and compare the
systems used for the management of nuclear waste in France and elsewhere in
Europe. The conference is held annually and a twice-yearly newsletter is
published, with a circulation of 10,000. Les Entretiens européens are
sponsored by the European Commission and the French Government. In 2005, they
obtained sponsorship from Andra and Reims Town Council and the conference was
organised jointly with C.E.R.E.S., Foratom and Confrontations Europe, in
partnership with AREVA, CEA, EDF and Electrabel Suez. In 2006, the
conference may be held in Berlin in November and the management of nuclear
waste may be the subject of a Franco-German debate on future prospects for the
nuclear industry.
The minutes of the Reims Conference will be
available in January on the website of the Entretiens européens. It will
be the basis of the sixth Lettre des Entretiens européens that will be
published in March.
