91999E0188

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0188/99

by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) , Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL) and Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(11 February 1999)

Subject: Nuclear power station in Morocco

The Government of Morocco has recently announced its wish to build a nuclear power station in the country. It would be located in the western part of Morocco, approximately 200 kilometres away from the Canary Islands. It would be the first nuclear power station in North Africa and the announcement of the project has provoked a degree of disquiet concerning the development of nuclear energy in Morocco.

No such installation would be needed if the country's considerable potential for generating energy from renewable sources were to be adequately developed. Indeed, technicians from the Canary Islands government have offered to provide assistance in installing wind-powered electricity generators in Morocco.

Renewable energy sources therefore need to be developed in Morocco in order to promote the country's socio-economic development and to prevent the introduction of energy sources such as nuclear power, with all the harmful environmental and economic effects which it undeniably has.

Is the Commission aware of the project to build a nuclear power station in Morocco?

Has the Commission offered any kind of technical or financial cooperation to assist the development of nuclear power in Morocco?

Has the Commission considered the possibility of offering aid to assist the installation and development of renewable energy sources in Morocco by means of the existing cooperation instruments?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission

(10 March 1999)

The Commission is aware that it is planned to build a nuclear power station for the desalination of seawater on the south coast of Morocco in the Tan-Tan region.

An agreement on this project was signed in December 1998 by Morocco and China.

The Commission has not made any proposal concerning nuclear energy in Morocco.

It is providing aid for the energy sector in Morocco on two fronts.

Firstly, the Commission has launched a large-scale project on decentralised rural electrification involving solar-powered energy under the bilateral indicative programmes with Morocco. This [fmxeuro]14,5 million project will receive a total of [fmxeuro]10 million for the electrification of isolated villages (douars) in the northern provinces. The financing proposal for this project is being finalised and will be submitted for Member States' approval in the first half of the year.

Care has been taken to include environmental protection measures in the project.

Secondly, four energy projects have been prepared under regional programming in accordance with the recommendations of the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum under the 1998-2000 action plan established after the Trieste Conference. These are eligible for cofinancing from Mediterranean partner countries and the Member States.

They cover energy and the urban environment, thermal solar energy applications, a network of training in energy policy and a Mediterranean electricity network.

Two other projects which will be wholly funded by the Commission concern the legal and institutional framework, restructuring of companies in the energy sector and support for the Euro-Mediterranean Energy Forum's ad hoc working parties on energy policy, interconnections and economic analysis.