Dublin seeks Euratom Treaty amendments

IRELAND'S long running dispute with Britain over Sellafield and nuclear pollution of the Irish Sea moves to a new arena this week as the Government tables proposals to the EU for major extension of the Euratom Treaty safeguards system.

As part of the review of the EU treaties in the Inter Governmental Conference (IGC), Dublin has in the last month circulated to fellow member states a series of amendments which will strengthen nuclear inspection, introduce the "polluter pays" principle, and give the Commission and the Council of Ministers powers to vet plans for new nuclear installations.

The proposals only deal with aspects of the civil use of nuclear power.

They got their first airing yesterday when representatives of foreign ministers met in Luxembourg for an IGC working session. Diplomats described the reaction to the Irish proposal as mixed" with some member states unwilling to see the Euratom Treaty amended.

There was, however, broad support for proposals from Sweden and others to incorporate an environmental clause on the principle of sustainable development in the main EU Treaty.

Ostensibly targeted at setting standards for the EU's applicant countries, and acknowledging that the treaty's unanimity requirements make any comprehensive review unlikely, the scope of new Irish proposals are nevertheless likely to face stiff opposition from Britain and probably other nuclear powers.

Most of the proposals reflect obligations entered into by member states under international agreements, but "operationalising" them inside the European Union is likely to give "clean" member states and environmental activists inside the Union and in the applicant countries significantly new leverage on nuclear power generating governments.

The proposals include the obligation to establish independent and credible regulatory authorities, subject to "peer review" by other member states. Operators of nuclear installations would be made liable for damages due to accidents and member states would be under the obligation to ensure that operators had the financial means to do so.

Most significantly from an Anglo Irish point of view is the suggestion for an article "allowing for prior consultation in respect of the proposed construction of nuclear installations likely to affect the territory of another member state".

Either the member state or the Commission could require the constructing state to supply to the Commission all the information necessary for the Commission to assess the environmental impact on the neighbouring state of the plant, and the risks of malfunction.

The Commission would also be able to consider whether the construction of a number of plants close to each other in border regions might produce a cumulative threat. Applicant member states would have to commit themselves to the decommissioning or upgrading of plants that do not meet EU standards.

. Euratom - the European Atomic Energy Community - was established in 1957 at the same time and in parallel to the European Economic Community (Treaty of Rome). In 1967, the two merged with the pre existing European Coal and Steel Community to form the "European Communities" (though "EEC" was used for many years to denote the new entity).