Cabinet urged to oppose nuclear accord

GREENPEACE has called on the Government to say whether it will support or oppose the opening of bilateral negotiations on a nuclear co operation agreement between the EU and Japan.

The organisation's campaign director, Mr John Bowler, said the prospect of such an agreement raised serious concerns, particularly about British Nuclear Fuels Ltd's (BNFL) nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield.

The organisation claims that a mandate for the so called "Peaceful Nuclear Co operation Agreement" is now being drafted and could be presented to the EU Council of Ministers as early as October.

Informal discussions between the European Commission and Japan are already taking place, Greenpeace says, and if the council agrees the mandate, the Commission could open formal negotiations with Japan during the later part of the Irish EU presidency.

"BNFL are desperate to secure new large contracts to supply plutonium fuel to Japan," he said.

"If this agreement proceeds, then Japan will take it as a signal that the EU, including Ireland, supports plutonium reprocessing and plutonium fuel fabrication.

The proposed agreement will encourage expansion of the global trade in nuclear weapons materials, and it is inextricably linked with the transportation of plutonium fuel from Europe to Japan by sea or air, he said.

Negotiations would be conducted on behalf of all EU member states and not just the nuclear countries. Mr Bowler urged the Government to seek sufficient support to defeat the mandate at Commission level.

The proposal requires a qualified majority of 62 of the Council's 87 votes.

"Ireland must secure enough support to veto the mandate. To do anything else would be hypocritical. Ireland's endorsement of the agreement would be rightly interpreted as contrary to its historical role in promoting effective nuclear non proliferation and in calling for an end to reprocessing at Sellafield."