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EU to open talks with Russia on nuclear energy deal
Brussels (AFP) Dec 22, 2009 European Union countries on Tuesday agreed to start negotiations with Russia on nuclear energy cooperation, the bloc's executive said. The move is part of a broader push to secure stable energy supplies long-term, after the EU struggled in recent winters to guarantee gas supplies from major energy exporter Russia. "This is an important step, which will give a new impetus to EU-Russia relations in the energy sector," Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement. "It is in the interest of both sides to reach a comprehensive agreement on nuclear cooperation, and I am pleased that these negotiations can now start." The mandate handed down by the 27 EU countries authorises Brussels to open talks on working together "for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the European Atomic Energy Community and the Russian Federation," it added. Nuclear energy generates almost one third of the electricity in the EU and two thirds of the bloc's low-carbon electricity. There are at present 146 nuclear power plants operating in the EU, where Russian-designed nuclear reactors figure prominently in eastern, ex-Soviet EU states. Another 40 are either operating or under construction in Russia itself. The European Commission said the deal would also focus on "nuclear safety, nuclear liability and non-proliferation" issues, which is the control of who has access to nuclear technologies. EU nuclear cooperation agreements have already been struck with Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan and the United States, alongside looser deals with Japan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and a research and development package with China. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Lithuania braces for nuclear shutdownVisaginas, Lithuania (AFP) Dec 20, 2009 Rising from the flat plain of eastern Lithuania, the two tall red and white chimneys of a nuclear power plant are the symbol of a once-proud Soviet industrial era whose end is looming. One hour before midnight on December 31, under a pledge to the European Union, the last reactor will finally go offline at the 26-year-old plant, long a crucial power source for this Baltic state. ... read more |
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