International

The SP is opposed to the building of a new nuclear power station, as proposed by the government and backed by a parliamentary majority. Whenever we're asked, however, whether we see nuclear power as taboo, we answer with a 'no'. We'll always consider what seems a good proposal. Your thought should never stand still. As things stand, though, we see no real possibility for either uranium, plutonium or thorium, certainly not in the short term. Safety must always be the priority, and at the moment that's not possible, and neither does the Netherlands have a definitive solution to the problem of the mountains of highly radioactive waste which would be produced by any new nuclear power station.

It takes a long time – the average is thirteen years – to build a nuclear power station, and it's expensive. A state-of-the-art nuclear power station is currently under construction in France. It was supposed to open in 2012 and to cost €3.3 billion. It still hasn't opened and costs have now run to €10.9 billion. In the UK too, construction of a nuclear power station is taking longer and costing much more than estimates suggested. In the US, two nuclear power stations were scrapped while still under construction, due to spiralling costs. Our own country is so densely populated, moreover, that we cannot see any location where a nuclear power station would be suitable.

In recent years the SP has taken the lead in the fight to have the superannuated and unsafe nuclear power stations in Doel and Tihange in Belgium, along with the Dutch plant at Borssele, closed down. We are urging the government to get down to work immediately on energy saving and on sustainable energy. The governing party the VVD is looking to draw attention away from the climate debate by putting out feelers on ideas like this. We'll look seriously at any serious proposal, but what we need to do now is get to work on what is truly needed.