The services of Prime Minister Fillon issued a communiqué after Anne Lauvergeon of Areva and Henri Proglio of EDF met with Fillon the afternoon of 20 January. Lauvergeon and Proglio refused to comment to the press on the meeting. The minister of the economy, Christine Lagarde, and the minister of the environment, Jean-Louis Borloo, were present but apparently did not comment either. According to the communiqué, widely reported in the media, Fillon reminded Areva and EDF of the role of the state in the French nuclear industry. (The state is the majority owner of both Areva and EDF.) Lauvergeon stated that the removal of irradiated fuel from EDF’s power plants had recommenced. Areva and EDF agreed to work out, within the next two weeks, the principles on which they will cooperate on reprocessing. In the same two weeks they also are to define the conditions under which EDF will obtain enriched uranium from Tricastin.
In regard to reprocessing we should add that Areva is dependent on EDF for the continuation of reprocessing at La Hague. As of the end of 2008, fuel containing 9179 metric tons of heavy metal awaited reprocessing. Ninety-nine percent of this fuel belonged to EDF. No substantial foreign reprocessing contracts are in sight.
–Mary Byrd Davis
Tags: Areva, EDF, enrichment, Fillon, La Hague, Lauvergeon, Proglio, reprocessing
