One would have expected more information to come out on this subject, considering that it could turn into a big deal, but so far there has (to my knowledge) only been published an article in an Austrian newspaper and a press release on the website of the Austrian Ministry of the Environment. There has been nothing in the Danish press or on the website of the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy or on any official website in any other European country that I have checked.

Yesterday 11 EU member states formed an alliance against nuclear power. None of them have nuclear programs. The countries are: Austria, Latvia, Denmark, Malta, Liechtenstein, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Estonia, Cyprus and Luxemburg. They signed a common declaration (which I haven’t been able to find) demanding strict safety standards for NPPs and more liability for operators. The countries also stated that nuclear power is not sustainable or suitable for climate protection and that nuclear should be substituted by renewables as soon as possible. Furthermore, they demanded comprehensive stress tests for European NPPs that included both human and natural accident causes. The declaration will be presented at the Environment Minister Council in June. Another meeting for the alliance is scheduled in Greece in autumn.

Personally, I am wondering how seriously the Danish government takes this alliance. Denmark has the EU chairmanship first half of 2012, so the government could – if it has the will – probably use this initiative to strike a blow for renewables in EU.

Niels Henrik Hooge