PRESS RELEASE April 26th, 2004
18 years after the Chernobyl accident, representatives of NGOs and political parties associated with Atomstopp International came from 6 European countries to Finland in order to meet with government officials to discuss the scheme for the construction of a fifth nuclear power plant (NPP).
The organizations criticized the decision making process and asked the Finnish government not to permit the construction of the European Pressurized water Reactor (EPR).
They put forward arguments for more investment in renewable energy sources, the reduction of energy consumption and greater energy efficiency to meet the present energy demand in Finland. The organizations also joined the Finnish antinuclear movement in launching a pan-European campaign to collect 1 million signatures for phasing-out nuclear energy in Europe (see www.atomstopp.com for details).
Experts and activists from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, and Sweden met with the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development, and the Ministry of the Environment.
The delegation was extremely critical of the government’s claim that the decision in 2002 was taken democratically, although there was no referendum on the issue despite the fact that opinion polls showed a clear majority in favor of a referendum. The present government, in which the majority of ministers voted as MPs against the construction of a new nuclear power plant, now claims to be bound by the parliamentarian decision of 2002 that must be respected.
The delegation pointed out that the government is still in the position to refuse the permit for the planned EPR on safety grounds and presented the Ministries with a preliminary assessment on the safety deficiencies of the EPR (see www.ippnw.de and www.sortirdunucleaire.org for details). Despite the fact that Finland is concerned about buying nuclear power from Russia on safety grounds, TVO is planning to purchase an untested reactor that has not even been built as a prototype and does not adhere to current reactor safety standards.
The argument that nuclear energy is an answer to the climate change problem was refuted by the group, since the nuclear cycle also produces carbon dioxide emissions and the main growth (90%) in emissions in the last 10 years within the EU was in fact directly related to the transport sector.
The image of Finland as a forerunner in the field of environmental awareness would be seriously damaged by the construction of the plant. Finland is the only European country currently involved in the construction of a new nuclear power plant. Should permission be granted by the government to go ahead, this will give a strong signal to Russia that nuclear energy is still a viable form of power production.
The delegation therefore called on the government to reconsider the decision to build the nuclear reactor and to put greater emphasis on Finland’s real riches – its alternative energy resources.
For further information:
Xanthe Hall – IPPNW, German section: +49-171-416 0139
Tinuke Otoki – WISE Amsterdam: +31-20 6126368 wiseamster@antenna.nl
Jean-Yvon Landrac – Réseau “Sortir du nucléaire”,
France: +33-699 562 967
Roland Egger – Atomstopp International, Austria: +43-664 421 56 13
Gabriele Safai - Liberale Demokraten: +49-761 888 77 19
Maria Braig – Aktionsbündnis Castor-Widerstand, Germany: +49-160-957
109 99
Sten Danielsson – The Green Party of Sweden: +46-70 362 3404
Per Hegelund – Barsebäcksoffensiv: +46-70 503 095 096 valiantdk@yahoo.com
Ingegerd Björklund – People’s Movement against Nuclear Power
and Nuclear Weapons Sweden: +46-8 634 07 20
For further information on the Finnish energy policy, please contact:
Lea Launokari – Women for Peace: +358-50-55 22 330
Anna-Liisa Mattsoff - No more Nuclear Power movement: +358-50-468 2895
Ulla Klötzer – Women against nuclear power: +358-50-569 09 67