Consultations with countries participating in the transboundary procedure for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Pomerania have been completed

“Closing of the exchange of comments and expert meetings with countries that requested them is a very important stage in the environmental procedure. We are transparent, allowing other countries to ask questions about the investment project, providing detailed answers and thus fulfilling the requirements of the Espoo Convention. I am glad that all our information and explanations have been acknowledged, that other countries understand our needs and plans, and that their participation in the transboundary consultations on the environmental impact of our project was professional”, says Minister Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.

Overall, 14 countries participated in the transboundary consultations, including: Poland’s neighbours, countries in the Baltic Sea region and countries which previously applied for participation in the procedure. The Czech Republic, Finland and the Netherlands did not raise any comments or questions to the environmental report prepared by PEJ and fully accepted its assumptions and the results of the analyses, thus supporting Poland’s pursuit of nuclear power development. However, written comments were submitted by: Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine.

At the request of four countries – Austria, Denmark, Latvia and Germany – Poland organized intergovernmental transboundary consultations in Warsaw in the form of expert meetings under Article 5 of the Espoo Convention. The consultations concluded with the agreed minutes of meetings, confirming that there were no further questions or concerns about the impact of the nuclear power plant.

“This is undoubtedly a huge success for our company, as an investor in the power plant and at the same time the entity that prepared the environmental impact assessment report and the transboundary report for the first investment project of this type in Poland. I am convinced that the involvement of both the company’s employees and representatives of the General Directorate for Environmental Protection contributed significantly to the smooth progress of the entire transboundary procedure”, said Łukasz Młynarkiewicz, acting President of the Management Board of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe. 

The transboundary consultations began on 16 September 2022, with the submission of transboundary documentation to the countries participating in this international procedure. The documentation comprised both a 1,200-page study written in English, German, and Lithuanian (as required by the respective intergovernmental agreements), for other countries to assess the potential transboundary environmental impact, and the 19,000-page environmental report itself, prepared in Polish.

The completion of the transboundary procedure, however, does not complete the procedure to obtain an environmental decision. The proceedings led by GDOŚ also provide for public consultations. Another administrative decision that Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe will apply for is the location decision.