Ref. Ares(2018)43422 - 04/01/2018

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR ENERGY
Directorate D - Nuclear energy, safety and ITER
The Director

Luxembourg,
ENER.D.3 JJ/mp (2017)6962629

Mrs. Marina Albiol Guzmán

Sent only by e-mail

Subject:

Your letter sent to Ms O'Leary on 14.11.2017

Dear Mrs Albiol Guzmán,
Thank you for your letter addressed to Ms Marian O'Leary, Director General of the
Euratom Supply Agency registered by the Commission services on 15 November 2017, in
which you express concerns about the safety of the Cofrentes nuclear power plant in Spain
and its possible long-term operation. You also suggest closing the plant and replacing it by
other energy sources, such as renewables.
Although you addressed your letter to Ms O'Leary, who is the Director-General of the
Euratom Supply Agency, the matter raised in your letter falls within the competence of the
Directorate for Nuclear Energy, Safety and ITER of DG Energy. As its Director, I reply to
your letter in agreement with Ms O'Leary.
As stated in the reply of Commissioner Arias Cañete (our ref. Ares(2017)4351120) to
your letter of 13 July 2017 on the Cofrentes nuclear power plant (NPP), decisions on
licensing, including license renewals and/or long-term operation, remain the responsibility
of national competent authorities and have to comply with the national framework and the
applicable Euratom legislation, in particular the provisions of the Nuclear Safety
Directive1. Under the amended Nuclear Safety Directive, the prime responsibility for
nuclear safety rests with the license holder of the nuclear installation, under the
supervision of its national competent regulatory authority.
The Cofrentes NPP consists of a single BWR-6-type power reactor, which was first
coupled to the grid in October 1984 and began commercial operation in 19852. It reaches
its 40-year design lifetime in 2024 and therefore cannot yet be considered to be in longterm operation. In Spain, any renewal of an operating license is subject to a periodic safety
review, conducted every ten years. The current license of the Cofrentes plant was issued
by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade in 2011 and is valid until 2021. The
1

Council Directive 2009/71/Euratom establishing a Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear
installations, as amended by Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom of 8 July 2014
2
http://www.ensreg.eu/sites/default/files/Spain_Stress-Tests.pdf
Commission européenne, 2920 Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG - Tel. +352 43011
Office: EUFO 04/270 - Tel. direct line +352 4301-33861 - Fax +352 4301-35279
Massimo.Garribba@ec.europa.eu

 operating license included the requirement that a series of safety improvements be
implemented3.
To date, the Commission has not received any communication pursuant to Article 41 of
the Euratom Treaty regarding the intention to operate the plant beyond its original design
life. If investments related to the long-term operation of the plant were to fulfil the criteria
in terms of the type and size set out by Council Regulation (Euratom) No 2587/1999, the
communication to the Commission pursuant to Article 41 of the Euratom Treaty would be
compulsory. The Commission would then fulfill its responsibilities and communicate its
views on the project to Spain in accordance with Article 43 of the Euratom Treaty.
I would like to assure you that the Commission is carefully monitoring the timely, correct
and effective transposition and implementation of the revised Nuclear Safety Directive4
and will take the necessary legal action against Member States failing to comply with the
new requirements. Special focus will be on the enhanced requirement of the independence
of the national regulator which is responsible to ensure the full compliance of the operator
of a nuclear power plant with all the applicable safety requirements, including the newly
introduced "safety objective" in the revised Nuclear Safety Directive.
With regard to the recent incidents at the Cofrentes NPP you are referring to in your letter,
the Commission notes that according to information published by the Spanish competent
regulatory authority – the Nuclear Safety Council (CNS), the operator had notified to CNS
these events. The CNS has classified all the events as having no impact on workers, the
public or the environment (level 0 on the INES Scale5). The descriptions of these events
are published on the CNS's website6. The events were followed by effective analysis and
proposed corrective actions by the licensee.
As you are aware, the amended Nuclear Safety Directive requires that a full safety
assessment of nuclear installations is carried out, at least every 10 years, taking notably
into account ageing issues. In addition, the Commission (DG ENER with the support of
the Joint Research Centre (JRC)) has been dedicating substantial efforts and resources to
support the organisation of the first topical peer review under the revised Nuclear Safety
Directive to be carried out by national regulators in the ENREG context. Spain is taking
part in this exercise. The topic chosen is the "Ageing Management of Nuclear Reactors".
This topical peer review will cover the ageing management of the main components
important to the safety of nuclear power plants. This will in particular include reactor
pressure vessels, electrical cables, concealed pipework and concrete containment
structures.
I would like to add that the robustness of the EU NPPs to external events, including the
Cofrentes plant, has been enhanced as a result of the EU 'stress tests' carried out in
response to the Fukushima accident. An updated status report from each participating
country including Spain on the implementation of the stress tests recommendations is
expected by the end of 2017.
Finally, with regard to your suggestion that the NPP should be closed and replaced by
other energy sources, such as renewables, I would like to draw attention to the fact that in
accordance with Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, it is
3

https://www-ns.iaea.org/downloads/ni/safety_convention/7th-review-meeting/spain_nr-7th-rm_english.pdf
Directive 2009/71/Euratom as amended by Directive 2014/87/Euratom.
5
http://www-ns.iaea.org/tech-areas/emergency/ines.asp
6
https://www.csn.es/en/central-nuclear/cofrentes/sucesos-notificados
4

2

 up to the Member States to determine the choice between different energy sources,
including nuclear and renewable sources, and the general structure of their energy supply.
Hence, the decisions related to the energy mix rest with the Members States. The
Commission's priority is to ensure that Member States choosing to pursue nuclear energy
do so within the applicable European legal framework, ensuring they meet the highest
standards on safety, on safe and responsible radioactive waste management and on
radiation protection.
I hope this information is useful.
Yours sincerely,

Massimo Garribba
[e-signed]

Copy: Marian O'Leary, Director-General of the Euratom Supply Agency

3
Electronically signed on 03/01/2018 15:26 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563