91998E2723

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2723/98

by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Commission

(1 September 1998)

Subject: Doubts about the safety of a nuclear power plant in Cuba

1. Is the Commission aware that work has been resumed on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Juragua, Cuba, which was begun in 1991 and stopped in 1992, although the building was described as "ramshackle" in a recent report in "The Independent"?

2. Is the Commission prepared to seek information as to the safety of both the building and the reactors which, it is claimed, will be ready to go on stream within four years?

3. What prospects does Cuba's observer status under the Convention of Lomé offer for the finding of a solution to this issue which will be satisfactory and safe for Cuba in particular and for the region and the world in general, and is the Commission prepared to make use of this new political relationship between the EU and Cuba?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission

(9 October 1998)

The Commission is aware of the Cuban government's plans to complete the construction of the Juragua nuclear plant.

Safety at the plant is a matter for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the international organisation specialising in these issues. However, the IAEA can only recommend safety measures, it cannot enforce them.

The Council has made it quite clear that Cuba's admission as an observer member to the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries does not make its accession to the Lomé Convention a foregone conclusion. The Commission would draw the Honourable Member's attention to the fact that relations between the Union and Cuba are governed by the common position adopted on 2 December 1996 and confirmed on 9 June this year.