Transparency of proposed Nuclear Act
Dear DG ENER,
As civil society organisations working on the topics of energy transition and environmental decision-making processes, we are writing to request transparency of the background, legislative agenda and discussions related to the planned Nuclear Act. This proposal touches upon issues that have real-world consequences for green investments and urgently needed climate crisis responses.
If, as reported by Politico on 31 July, 2024, the European Commission is planning to create an act that establishes “new EU green targets in terms that are inclusive to nuclear”, this would effectively constitute greenwashing. Especially at a time when action on the climate is widely held to be insufficient, with political commitments failing to reach climate policy goals, citizens want to follow institutional decision-making processes and legislative procedures and have access to all relevant information.
Politico refers in the same report to the term “technical neutrality” as a euphemism designed to draw as much special attention to nuclear under the law as that given to renewable energy. It is often used by advocates of financially untenable and environmentally dangerous industries to claim the same public funding opportunities as genuinely green, economically viable, and sustainable energy technologies.
As nuclear power is both an unsustainable source of energy and an extremely hazardous technology, the industry does not merit additional special treatment (beyond the considerable resources already allocated to it through EURATOM channels) from the executive branch of the European Union.
It has been contended by Commissioner Thierry Breton that nuclear energy "has a central role to play in the complex equation [between] security, sustainability and competitiveness”. Such claims are usually backed by counterfeit science and should therefore have no role in informing EU climate, technology or security policies.
The agendas, discussions and background documents of this proposal are not public, and, as you will be aware, these constitute legislative documents requiring heightened levels of transparency and openness to ensure the legitimacy of the legislative process. We are disappointed to see that DG ENER has not made arrangements to ensure that the discussions surrounding and legal basis of a highly controversial proposal are transparent, easily accessible and comprehensive.
To ensure that discussions regarding the proposed Nuclear Act are genuinely transparent and open to EU citizens and organizations, we request, under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, the following information:
• Publicly available up-to-date calendar of all meetings about the Nuclear Act proposal including summary agendas and legislative timetable
• Proactive publication of a list of the documents tabled during meetings and discussions on a rolling basis
• Scientific evidence supporting the idea that nuclear energy could contribute to security, sustainability and competitiveness
We thank you in advance for your attention and welcome the opportunity to further discuss these issues with you in a meeting. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Kindly note that a postal address has been sent to you via email.
Yours sincerely,
Christiana Maria Mauro
and
Patricia Lorenz, Friends of the Earth Europe
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 26/08/2024 and registered on 26/08/2024 under the case number
2024/4431.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 16/09/2024. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Ms Mauro,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 26/08/2024 under case number 2024/4431.
We are currently working on your request. However, we have not yet been
able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of
your request. We will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 16/09/2024.
The application concerns documents held by different Services, which must
be consulted.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
we need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new
time limit expires on 07/10/2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Ms Christiana Maria Mauro and Ms Patricia Lorenz,
This is to inform you that the reply to your access to documents request
is currently in preparation and will be sent out shortly. We apologize for
the delay and for any inconvenience this might have caused.
Best regards,
DG ENER
Access to Documents Team
Dear DG ENER Access to documents Team,
We are filing a confirmatory application with regard to access to the information request registered on 26/08/2024 under the case number 2024/4431. The time-limit of 16/09/2024 expired and was extended 15 working days. The second extension of 07/10/2024 also expired.
As indicated in our request, the publication of the justification, background and legislative agenda of a proposed act is expected under law as a matter of course. The proposed act, which would designate a polluting industry as ‘green’, is an indefensible proposition under the current EU policy framework.
Given concerns across the European Union about about the need to eliminate greenwashing practices in energy policy, there is high public interest in the Commission's rationale for proposing legislation that would favour a polluting industry.
We respectfully request a response to this application within the shortest time possible based on the specific circumstances of the proposed act’s potential implications and imminent adoption.
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Christiana Maria Mauro, Protect the Future
and
Patricia Lorenz, Friends of the Earth Europe
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/tran...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2024/4431, sent on 09/10/2024 and registered on 09/10/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 30/10/2024. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear applicants,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/4431.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG ENER
Access to Documents Team
Hello,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case [1]2024/4431, registered on 09/10/2024.
As you did not receive a reply to your initial request registered on
26/08/2024, you submitted a confirmatory request.
In the meantime, the initial reply in question was sent to you on
27/09/2024.
Against this background, the Secretariat-General has closed your
confirmatory request.
You can submit a new_rec confirmatory request for this case in accordance
with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 if you wish to ask for a
review of the initial reply.
Kind regards,
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/