Link to the study - European Parliament - Europa

Policy Department D: Budgetary Affairs
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such a reliable plan all these fields will present problems and are prone to substantial
mismanagement. Escalating costs and extended delays are then likely.
Under the current overall management structure of this project a considerable improvement of
management control, work performance indicators, financial control instruments and internal
timely communication is required to keep the process under control and to allow timely
interventions in cases where weak performance requires this.
The overall conclusion, in respect to this study, is that neither the project management nor the
organisation form nor the gained performance level in the decommissioning process at Sellafield
qualifies as a best practice example.
3.4. SELECTED EXAMPLE FROM GERMANY: EWN GREIFSWALD
The former German Democratic Republic ( GDR) operated six nuclear reactors (Rheinsberg,
Greifswald/Lubmin units 1 to 5) in its territory, which now makes up the eastern part of the Federal
Republic of Germany ( FRG). Those were property of the state-owned combine 'Kombinat
Kernkraftwerke Bruno-Leuschner'. When re-unification of East- and West-Germany came in 1990, this
property was formally transferred to Treuhandanstalt, a privatization agency. The safety of the
facilities was evaluated with the finding that major backfitting would be necessary if continued
operation of the facilities was to be chosen. Talks were held in 1990 with major nuclear operating
companies on a potential takeover of these facilities. These talks brought no viable result, and the
property was transferred to the then-owner Bundesministerium der Finanzen (Federal ministry of
Finance, BMF), the single owner since 2000. BMF became responsible to organize the
decommissioning of the six reactors. This included the assumption of the associated costs because no
reserves had been set aside by the previous owner to cover part or all of those expenses.
The following descriptions are based on different sources:
The information necessary to understand organisational and control issues was received in
comprehensive telephone interviews with the operator;
On certain issues (such as project and risk management) additional descriptions and documents
were provided;
The responsible contact person at BMF provided insights concerning the perspective of the main
funder and described decision-making strategic issues and the control over EWN;
Practical experiences with the decommissioning project were derived from several visits over the
past years and working as consultant on behalf of the regulator on the decommissioning of one
of the facilities at EWN’s Rheinsberg nuclear power plant provided a close insight.
3.4.1. Overall framework of the decommissioning project of EWN
BMF set up a new organisation for decommissioning, Energiewerke Nord GmbH, a completely
federally owned company. The formal structure is a limited liability company, with BMF as the sole
owner. This organisational structure, not a state agency but acting like a privately organized
company, allowed it to
Streamline the new management level of the company;
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