Brussels, June 25th 2009Mr. President,We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, would like to call on youto reconsider any possible decision concerning the premature closure of GaroñaNuclear Power Plant.We acknowledge the commitments undertaken by the Spanish socialist party duringthe election campaigns related to the nuclear energy issue and its willingness toclose down its nuclear power plants once they have reached the limit of their lifetime.But taking into account that Spanish nuclear power plants do not have, by law,specific fixed lifetimes, but rather are being granted operation licences for periods of10 years since they start operating, Garoña NPP is not at the end of its lifetime, asthe Spanish Nuclear Regulatory Body has confirmed.We have also been made aware of the following issues:1.Several international inspections have been conducted in Garoña NPP overthe past thirteen years which have concluded that the plant is operated in asafe and reliable manner;2.In 2008, and based on an international survey, the power plant was rankednumber two among BWR nuclear power plantsin Europe and ninth in theworld in terms of production availability;3.Important investments have been made (150 million€ over the past 10 years)and are planned to be made (50 million € for the period 2009 and 2011) inorder to comply with more stringent safety requirements recommended by theplant manufacturer and endorsed by the Spanish Nuclear Regulator, whichwere not originally applicable at the time when the precedent licenses wereissued;4.The US Nuclear Regulator has already provided with extensions of operationlicences to 18 nuclear power plants which design and age are similar to theGaroña NPP; in particular, Oyster Creek NPP, identical plant of Garoña NPP,has been granted the permit to continue working up to 60 years;5.And, last but not least, the competent Nuclear Regulatory Body in Spain, theCSN, has, after analysing all the information provided issued a reportaccording to which the plant can be granted a lifetime extension in a safemanner.We strongly believe that the nuclear power plant should be given the permit tocontinue its operations because, in the first place, together with the rest of nuclearpower plants around Europe,it contributes to the efforts being done at EU level in

combating climate change and in meeting the targets fixed by the Kyoto protocol.Second, it contributes to ensure security of energy supply; and third, it will help Spainto contribute to the EU’s economic competitiveness and economic growth, an issueof the utmost importance in the financial and economic turmoil we are going throughnowadays. Indeed, our European industry in general and the big energy consumersin particular need to be able to count on reasonable, predictable and stable electricityprices to be competitive. And there again, there is a clear role to be played by thenuclear energy.Talking into account the above and if the EU wants to play a significant role in thethree pillars mentioned above, Spain’s commitment to define an adequate energy mixwhich takes into account all energy sources such as renewable and nuclear energy iscrucial. And the continuity of Garoña Nuclear Power Plant is, to our understanding,an essential part of theequation.We fully respect the principle that Member States are sovereign in determining theirenergy mix but this does not mean that these decisions do not have consequencesfor the overall of the EU. In this regard, through numerous legislations, reports andcommunications, the EU institutions have stated on several occasions the need tomaintain and promote all indigenous low CO2 emitting sources of energy within theUnion, which includes nuclear, renewables and the development of technologies forthe clean use of fossil fuels. In this framework, extending the operating licence of theGaroña NPP for ten more years, as recommended by the Spanish nuclear safetyregulatory body, seems to be for us the logical decision.We thank you in advance for the consideration we are sure you will give to thearguments put forward in this letter.

Edit HerczogStruan StevensonVladimir UrutchevMEP, PSE-HungaryMEP, Conservatives-ScotlandMEP, PPE-Bulgaria Richard Falbr Evgeni KirilovMEP, PSE(CSSD)-Czech Republic MEP, PSE-Bulgaria