"The foreign policy of nuclear reactors in Central and Eastern Europe."

An important policy consideration of the European Union and its member countries is the continued operation of nuclear power plants in Central and Eastern Europe. Five of the ten applicant countries produce electrical power for their own and export use with Soviet-designed nuclear power plants whose design and operational safety characteristics are vigorously debated. The scheduled closing of "non-upgradeable units" was an EU Agenda 2000 goal and a key dispute in enlargement negotiations, with important economic and political repercussions for the countries covered. This paper reviews the nuclear power plant status and commitments of EU aspirant countries and EU intervention in this regard, arguing that the issue is likely to remain volatile for some time to come, despite agreements at Copenhagen in 2002 and elsewhere