2
décembre 2005 - Simon Webster
Dear
Claude,
Thank
you for the brief summary.
The
2nd paragraph gives the impression that I "support" the proposal put
forward by Mr Lamoureux regarding the Joint Undertaking. I must stress that I
certainly do not support TREN's proposal, and my intervention during the
2nd table ronde was not at all oriented in that direction. I in fact referred
to "Technology Platforms", which is an entirely different story.
Anyway, I'd be grateful if any misconceptions regarding my views could be
avoided in the final minutes.
The
Joint Undertaking - in the way that it is presented by TREN - is definitely
not the way to manage the future EU R&D effort in radwaste in FP7.
However, a JU could be a very useful instrument when and if we come to
take decisions on pilot plants or demonstration facilities. However, that is
at least 5 years away. A JU could conceivably be used for the Bure project,
but personally I don't see what can be gained by this, and in any case it is a
question for the French and not the Commission.
The
text also says that the Commission has plans to set up such a
JU; this is not true - it is purely an initiative being pushed by TREN.
Recently, the energy Commissioner decided not to go ahead with this proposal
because of opposition from the other DGs. Except for the people in the TREN
services, nobody that I've spoken to supports the idea. Industry and the
Member States are almost unanimous in their opposition, and for very sound
reasons. I'd be happy to give more in-depth arguments if you require further
clarification.
Best
regards,
Simon
