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Illegal Nuclear Subsidies Must Be Repaid

24.10.2006 Lauri Myllyvirta

The European Commission announced today that it will launch an investigation on whether the public subsidies the nuclear power plant built by Teollisuuden Voima has received are against European anti-trust legislation. The Commission has been considering the issue for two years as a result of complaints from Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energies Federation. Greenpeace considers the Commission’s new announcement as an important step forward and sees a clear need for a complete investigation as promised by the Commission.

Greenpeace media advisory, October 24, 2006

– All information about the power plant project’s public subsidies must be disclosed and the mess has to be sorted out thoroughly. The fifth nuclear plant project has been presented as an affordable and privately financed project, as well in Finland as elsewhere. Now it has become apparent that the project is dependent in state aid in many ways, says Mark Johnston from Greenpeace EU Unit in Brussels.

The export guarantee amounts to more than half billion euros. If it is found illegal, the project will suffer a severe setback and force TVO to make new financial arrangements. We naturally demand that Teollisuuden Voima and Areva are required to reimburse the benefits they have received, Johnston continues.

The news coincides with Arevas announcement two weeks ago about the delay and safety problems of the nuclear project and the financial losses that the company has incurred.

Greenpeace submitted a complaint in 2004 about the export credits granted to the nuclear project by the French export credit agency COFACE. The European Renewable Energies Federation submitted a more extensive investigation demand, where additional issues were raised, concerning e.g. the role of the Swedish government.

European Commission Press Release