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Anger at Hinkley Point nuclear plans
One of the region’s MEPs has said a decision by the European Union to approve plans for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset “demonstrates why so many British people are sceptical about the EU”.
Plans to build the power plant on the Somerset coast have been recommended for approval following a European Commission investigation.
Since December, the commission has been examining whether funding for the £16bn plant, to be built by developers EDF Energy, broke state aid rules.
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Antoine Colombani, commission spokesman for competition and for vice-president Joaquin Almunia, said: “Our discussions with the UK authorities have led to an agreement.
“On this basis, vice-president Almunia will propose to the college of commissioners to take a positive decision in this case. In principle a decision should be taken within this mandate.”
A spokesman for EDF said the recommendation was “another positive step forward for this vital project”.
But Green Party MEP for the South West, Molly Scott Cato, said she was “shocked and disturbed” that concerns raised over the deal have been ignored.
Elected as the Greens first MEP for the region, she said financial incentives offered by the government were illegal state aids which breached European market rules.
“A decision like this demonstrates why so many British people are sceptical about the EU,” she said. “The rules on fair competition are perfectly clear but can apparently be ignored when there is a political deal to be made.
“Agreeing such a huge implicit subsidy for Hinkley will make it impossible for those who generate electricity in a clean and sustainable way to compete. It will destroy thousands of potential jobs in the renewables sector and set back South West innovation in the energies of the future.”
The recommendation must now be approved by a group of EU commissioners in the next few weeks. A final decision is expected in October.
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