mr president nuclear safety is an absolute priority for the european union as the rapporteur said and i would like to thank the rapporteur for a very strong clear and comprehensive report
as the use of nuclear energy in the european union is a reality and will be a reality and nuclear safety is not constrained by national borders we need a community-wide framework aiming at achieving maintaining and continuously improving nuclear safety in the european union
this is the objective of the revised proposal for a directive that sets up a community framework for nuclear safety
the fundamental goal of the proposal is to establish binding legislation the only solution that offers guarantees that political and industrial commitments to continuously improve nuclear safety are followed by concrete measures
these international atomic energy agency iaea safety fundamentals and the obligations of the convention of nuclear safety constitute the core of the directive
de facto their transposition into binding community legislation would bring legal certainty
the proposal also aims at ensuring that national regulatory authorities in charge of nuclear safety are independent from any governmental decision-making body and any other organisation that would have an interest in nuclear matters
they can therefore preoccupy themselves solely with the safety of installations
the proposal aims to enhance the role of regulatory authorities by ensuring that the member states provide them with adequate authority competence and human and financial resources to fulfil their responsibilities
the revised proposal takes into account the outcome of a consultation process that started in two thousand and four with the council's working party on nuclear safety
it was discussed before adoption with the european nuclear safety regulators group as well as in other fora
it also reflects the substance of the opinion given by the scientific group of experts referred to in article thirty-one of the euratom treaty and the current nuclear safety proposal is a second revision of the regional proposal in the area of nuclear safety
article thirty-one of the euratom treaty does not require a resubmission of the revised proposal to the scientific group of experts
moreover close cooperation with the international atomic energy agency has ensured consistency with international practices
the commission agrees with most of the proposed amendments that reinforce the line taken
the report clearly recognises the obligation of the member states to respect the safety fundamentals stemming from the iaea and the provisions of the convention on nuclear safety as well as seeking to reinforce the role of nuclear regulatory authorities and ensure their independent decision-making role
i am therefore confident that the council will take into consideration parliament's position whenever it contributes to improving and clarifying the objectives of the directive
