madam president this is not an internal german issue but a european issue
it is vital that nuclear facilities across europe are both safe and seen to be safe
the mistakes of the first banking stress test must therefore not be repeated we do not need another pointless pr exercise
it is the responsibility of the commission to make sure that the stress tests are conducted in a solid transparent and comprehensive manner and that they have real consequences
if a plant fails the test and if the issues raised cannot be remedied it should be shut down
the proposed stress tests are however too weak
the alde group has called for the entire safety culture and the human factor to be included in the test
this is unfortunately not the case
i sincerely hope that the commission finds another way forward to test the safety culture
for instance i expect the commission to put forward proposals as part of the revision of the nuclear safety directive to remedy these problems
this includes the issues that you raised commissioner of security in respect of decommissioning and waste
the stress test also lacks clear wording on the need for the independence and transparency of the tests
there will be a peer review with representatives from member states other than the one where the concerned nuclear plant is situated but they will not necessarily be fully independent
that is a problem
these are all problems for the credibility of the tests but the stress tests are only the beginning
we need a strategy which goes beyond this and that provides european common standards guaranteeing a high level of nuclear safety and information
the safety of nuclear power plants is a european issue
looking ahead we should implement stricter safety standards than the international atomic energy agency recommendations and the rest of the world
if you look at the information and the transparency in the fukushima accident there is a real need for a european platform and for european regulation on this issue
european citizens expect and deserve the best possible safety for their nuclear power plants
there is precious little time and there is a heavy responsibility on the european commission and certainly more now on the member states who are weakening and backing off from what they promised initially after what happened in japan
we ask the commission to assume its responsibilities and we ask the council which is not here to meet the expectations of the european citizens when it comes to nuclear safety in europe
