BRUSSELS - The European Union's executive Commission renewed its call for tougher EU nuclear safety standards on Tuesday after part of Britain's Sellafield nuclear site was closed down after a broken pipe leaked.
The Commission is trying to push through new EU legislation that would create unified standards on safety at nuclear installations throughout the 25-nation bloc, but has faced opposition from countries like Britain and Germany.
"The recent Sellafield incident shows once more that the EU should be allowed overall framework control for the safety of nuclear installations," Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said in a statement.
"It is not possible to continue to function efficiently in relation to the varying national legislation in force. In an area as sensitive as nuclear energy, it is essential to show the greatest form of transparency."
Piebalgs' predecessor on the energy brief, Loyola de Palacio, amended the Commission's controversial proposals for nuclear safety and waste management legislation in September.
The revised rules would require member states to create plans for dealing with radioactive waste, though a Commission-imposed deadline for those plans was dropped from the proposal to win backing from some sceptical EU governments.
British Nuclear Group on Monday confirmed it had shut part of the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant after engineers discovered faults in some pipework.
Sellafield's managing director Barry Snelson said the plant was in a safe and stable condition.
"Safety monitoring has confirmed no abnormal activity in air and there has been no impact on our workforce or the environment," he said in a statement.
The Commission has been at odds with Britain over Sellafield before. Last autumn the EU executive said it was taking Britain to court for failing to grant EU inspectors full access to part of the site that stores highly radioactive waste.
(additional reporting by Stuart Penson in London)
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