MEPs still awaiting data as France conducts fourth test

Date: 23/11/1995

By Michael Mann

AS France carried out its fourth nuclear test this week, MEPs were still waiting for the data from the European Commission which it used in deciding not to take legal action against Paris.

Commission officials insisted the long-awaited information had been submitted to the European Parliament, but by mid-week it had still not arrived.

The data in question was promised by Commission President Jacques Santer a month ago, to allow Euro MPs to conduct their own investigation into whether the decision not to prosecute France for the non-application of Article 34 of the Euratom Treaty was justified.

Rejecting claims that there was any hidden agenda behind the apparent delay in submitting the data to the Parliament, Commission officials maintained that over 1,000 pages of information had been forwarded to the office of Parliament President Klaus Hänsch, including research from the Commission's Institute for Transuranium Elements in Karlsruhe.

But by mid-week, Environment Committee Chairman Ken Collins had yet to see the documents, although he suggested the delay resulted more from confusion than conspiracy.

“I don't think they really know what to do with it themselves,” he said. “But we sent them a reminder letter at the start of this week to remind them that we haven't forgotten.”

Despite its tough words prior to and immediately following the Commission's decision on the applicability of Article 34, the Parliament has gone rather quiet on the issue since then.

No firm date has been set for detailed examination of the documentation, although environment committee officials stressed they would keep up the pressure so that the five committees involved in the Parliament's public hearing on the nuclear test issue in October could begin their deliberations as soon as possible. Apart from the environment committee, the dossier would probably be studied by the committees for legal affairs, energy, development and foreign affairs, said officials.

Further fuel has been added to the debate this week by the parliamentary Green Group's decision to support legal action brought by Tahiti resident Marie-Thérèse Danielsson, who is taking the Commission to the European Court of Justice over its decision not to take legal action against France under Article 34 of the Euratom Treaty.

Danielsson is the co-author of two books on French nuclear testing, Mururoa, mon amour and Mururoa, notre bombe coloniale.

Green MEP Nuala Ahern said Danielsson's legal challenge was based on the claim that the Commission's decision “denies her the protection necessary for her health under Chapter 3 of Euratom”.

Ahern, calling for an end to what she described as a “scandalous disregard for human life”, said the Commission's decision was wrong “because the definition of particularly-dangerous experiments is incorrect” and because it did not take account of the risk of future radiation leaks.