37th REPORT: MANAGING NUCLEAR SAFETY AND
WASTE: THE ROLE OF THE EU
Letter from Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry to
the Chairman
Thank you for your letter of 5 July, enclosing
copies of the European Select Committee report Managing Nuclear
Safety and Waste: the Role of the EU. I am replying on behalf
of Malcolm Wicks in my capacity as Duty Minister.
Malcolm would like to thank the Committee members
for the enthusiasm and dedication with which they approached this
inquiry and their rigorous examination of evidence from a vast
range of national and international experts in the field of nuclear
safety and waste.
The report clearly validates the approach that
the Government has taken to the adoption of the nuclear package.
At the same time it offers some very helpful messages about the
recommendations that should flow from the Action Plan that is
due to report at the end of the Finnish Presidency. We shall keep
these clearly in mind in taking forward discussions with EU colleagues
and the Commission.
The Committee's comments on the long-term management
of higher-level radioactive wastes are, of course, particularly
pertinent in light of the recent publication of CoRWM's final
recommendations. The Government will take the Committee's views
into account in developing its policies in this area.
The report also provides some high level messages
about the management of findings from the IAEA's peer review processes
that we are interested in pursuing within an EU context. Indeed,
early indications from the Working Party on Nuclear Safety suggest
that there is further work to be done around getting the best
possible outcomes from the peer review process.
Thank you again for a comprehensive and interesting
report that provides important insights into the challenges that
face us in this sensitive policy area.
29 August 2006
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