EU energy ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (21 March) discussed what to do with reactors that failed the tests, promised by Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger last week in the wake of the nuclear disaster in Japan.
Ministers discussed various assessment criteria including seismic and flood risks, the technical design and arrangements of the backup systems, the age of the power plants, the type of reactor, emergency procedures and resistance to terrorist attacks.
But there was no consensus on what to do with those that fail the mark. "We don't have a specific technical answer right now," said Tamar Fellegi, the Hungarian energy minister, who was chairing the extraordinary ministerial meeting.
"The whole point of the stress tests is to determine that sort of thing. In the next couple of months we're trying to make sure that we have contingency plans."
The scope of the measure was also thrown into doubt when Fellegi further clarified that participation in the tests would be voluntary, and member states could decide for themselves whether to opt out.
"If a country decides not to participate or rejects the whole process, that's not going to mean any particular consequences in practice," he said.
Scaled-down ambitions
The safety and risk probe into the EU's 134 nuclear power stations was announced as a crisis measure by Commissioner Oettinger last week.
Speaking to EurActiv on 15 March, Oettinger said that his priority was for a "common understanding and Europeanised standard for safety and security".
His tone in the joint press conference with Fellegi was less ambitious.
"Let's have no illusions," he said, "not everyone agrees on nuclear energy in every country. There are very few questions where national governments and parliaments have such a disparity of views".
But the stress tests would apply to as many member states as possible, he avowed, and by July 2011, he hoped that the Nuclear Safety Directive of 2009 would be transposed into national legislature across the continent.
Ahead of the stress tests, Germany shut down seven ageing nuclear reactors, which are highly unpopular in the country.
Environmental groups called on the Commission to go further. "The solution to Europe's energy concerns is to break away from fossil fuels and nuclear, not to scramble for alternate suppliers or build supposedly safer nuclear reactors," said Brook Riley, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth.
With oil trading at around $100 dollars a barrel, the EU could save €215 billion a year by meeting its existing energy efficiency targets, he expanded.
Speaking after the Council meeting, Oettinger's compatriot, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle, announced a new grid initiative to connect new offshore wind farms to existing energy infrastructure.
