Ignoring Chernobyl lessons: How EU ‘energy security’ expands nuclear industry in Ukraine

Kiev — On the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, while the world still struggles with the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, CEE Bankwatch Network issues a startling report showing how plans of the Ukrainian government to build 22 new nuclear reactors and extend the lifetime of old Soviet reactors are indirectly supported with European public money as part of the long-term EU energy security strategy.

“Since the Fukushima crisis started, we have seen EU leaders order nuclear stress tests in European and neighboring countries, Germany halting activities at reactors on its territory and Italy moving in a similar direction,” comments Iryna Holovko, Ukrainian national coordinator at Bankwatch. “Nevertheless, no one is speaking about the EU indirect support for the massive nuclear expansion envisaged by the Kiev government. European leaders seem to be so interested in securing cheap Ukrainian electricity imports that they choose to ignore the enormous risks associated with such a development.”

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have already provided EUR 650 million to support several transmission infrastructure projects to provide an outlet for electricity from Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Last year, two new projects were launched by the EBRD and backed with grants from the EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility: the “second backbone” ultra high-voltage (UHV) corridor and the NPP safety upgrade project. By 2018, when it is expected that the “second backbone” could realistically be put into operation, seven of twelve Ukrainian nuclear reactors connected with “second backbone” should already have been closed down. Yet the Ukrainian government plans to extend their lifetimes, and this is where EBRD financing for the NPP safety upgrade project enters the picture. The project makes no sense without the lifetime extensions.

“The EU cannot continue to play a double game, insisting on nuclear safety at home, while securing electricity imports at the expense of unsafe nuclear expansion in neighbouring countries,” says Holovko. “The EU and international financial institutions should immediately stop the practice of back-door subsidies to Ukraine’s nuclear sector. Halting nuclear expansion is in the interest of both Ukrainians and Europeans: nuclear risks know no borders.”

Read the report at:
https://bankwatch.org/documents/IgnoringChernobylsLessons.pdf

For more information, contact:

Iryna Holovko
Ukrainian National Coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network
iryna AT bankwatch.org
m: +38 050 647 67 00