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Row Over Dutch EU-Owned Nuclear Plant

December 6, 2004

Serious safety breaches were found last year at an EU Commission-owned nuclear plant in the Netherlands, but further investigations were blocked by authorities, according to reports.

https://p.dw.com/p/5xMt
According to Dutch daily De Volkskrant, a police raid in September 2003 revealed dangerous abuses of environmental and safety standards at a reactor based in Petten, which is owned by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center. However, documents from the Dutch Justice Ministry, obtained by the paper, show that the Dutch government hindered further judicial investigations against the plant. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs allegedly feared a diplomatic conflict with the European Commission. The Commission had stated in a series of letters to the Dutch authorities that it would find prosecution of the Petten plant staff unacceptable, as Commission employees working at Petten possess legal immunity in the Netherlands. Ongoing investigations against the plant by the Dutch public prosecutor were therefore hastily broken off in March 2004. Both the Joint Research Center and the Dutch Ministry for the Environment reacted over the weekend saying that after a series of recent improvements, safety at the plant is now guaranteed. (EUobserver.com)