Finland Times

The leaders of of the four components of the government led by Prime Minister spoke at a press conference after the cabinet meeting on Thursday. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.

The cabinet on Thursday gave a positive decision-in-principle on an application by Fennovoima Oy to build a Rosatom nuclear reactor unit in Pyhäjoki, said an official press release.

 

The decision was made at a cabinet session in which 10 ministers voted in favour of the project while seven opposed.

 

Two ministers of the Vihreä Liito (Green League), Ville Niinistö and Pekka Haavisto, four of the Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party), Pia Viitanen, Susanna Huovinen, Krista Kiuru and Erkki Tuomioja, and one minister of the Suomen Ruotsalainen Kansanpuolue (Swedish People’s Party of Finland), Anna-Maja Henriksson, cast their votes against the decision, reported news agency STT.

 

The proposal will be sent to parliament for final approval, which can either keep the decision in force or cancel it. But, parliament cannot make any changes to the content of the decision-in-principle, said the press release.

 

Fennovoima submitted the application to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in spring to supplement a decision-in-principle that it had received in 2010.

 

The supplementary application reflected changes in the project after the initial decision-in-principle was granted.

 

The government felt that in accordance with the Nuclear Energy Act, Fennovoima’s project remains in the overall good of society.

Fennovoima applied for a supplement to its decision-in-principle after the option for a reactor was changed to that of a Rosatom 1,200 megawatt AES-2006 Pressurised Water Reactor, which was not among the options that were examined in the application submitted in 2009.

Fennovoima is required to submit by June 30, 2015 an application to the government for a construction licence. The decision-in-principle is nullified if this does not happen. The company is required to indicate by that time that at least 60 per cent of its shares are in Finnish ownership.

 

On the one hand, the aim of this is to secure the national interest by guaranteeing the manoeuvrability of the country’s energy policy as well as general supply security and, on the other hand, the decision is related to the general acceptability of the project.

 

If parliament keeps the decision-in-principle in force, this condition of ownership is, in practice, politically binding for future governments as well.