On 8 September 2004, Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, who is keen to see the legislation approved before the end of her term in October, proposed a new draft for the nuclear package. The new proposals present a watered down version, under which the Commission would take a much less powerful role on nuclear safety issues than initially envisaged. However, the directives would still be binding for Member States.
De Palacio considers the directives "key instruments for ensuring greater transparency, rationalising the debate and dispelling public fears regarding this source of energy".
The new proposals contain the following changes:
Nuclear Safety Directive
- Subsidiarity (Art. 4) : This new article responds to Member States' concerns over interference from the Commission in national legislation by stating that the responsibility for nuclear safety rests with the national authorities and the operators.
- Decommissioning funds (Art.9): Member States are no longer required to provide securely ring-fenced funds for dismantling nuclear power stations. This proposal had met with strong opposition particularly from Germany. However, there is still an obligation to "ensure that adequate financial resources are available".
- National Regulatory Committee (Art. 12): The Commission proposes setting up a regulatory committee, composed of national regulatory bodies and chaired by the Commission. This committee should define guidelines for national reports and assess them.
- Waste disposal programmes (Art. 4): The new proposals no longer speficy deep geological waste disposal as a legal requirement, but do require Member States to give priority to this treatment if possible.
- Timetable (Art. 5): Member States would be required to draft long-term national management programmes for radioactive waste but the original approach of a firm timetable has been abandoned. However, the Commission indicated it should have the power to act if it were not to receive these programmes.
