NGOS WALK OUT OF INDUSTRY-DOMINATED NUCLEAR TALKING SHOP
EU-BACKED EUROPEAN NUCLEAR FORUM HAS SIDELINED CRITICAL VOICES
Prague, 29 May 2009 – Today, environmental organisations Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Sortir du nucléaire
formally ended their participation in the European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) at a meeting in Prague hosted by the Czech and Slovak governments and backed by the European Commission.
The environmental groups accuse the nuclear industry-dominated body of stifling critical voices and ignoring the concerns of civil society.
Greenpeace delegate Jan Haverkamp said: “The EU promised an open debate but the concerns of civil society are being ignored or even misrepresented to suit the nuclear industry. [1] There is no reason why European taxpayers should help fund the nuclear propaganda machine. We hoped there would be a fair discussion, but this is clearly not on the agenda of a forum that acts a lot like a nuclear lobby group.”
The forum, which is publicly funded, was set up by the Commission to encourage an open debate “without taboos” about the future of nuclear energy in the EU. But the three environmental organisations, the only NGOs to be granted access to the forum, accuse the Commission of not acting as an honest broker. After actively participating in several working groups since the forum’s creation in 2007, the environmental groups claim their contributions on issues such as nuclear waste and nuclear safety have been ignored.