BRUSSELS: The European Union is “still waiting for concrete, realistic proposals from London” on how to break the impasse over Britain’s looming exit, EU President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.
“No news is not always good news,” Tusk said on Twitter after meeting in Brussels with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier.
Britain is set to leave the 28-member European Union on March 29, but the terms of the divorce remain uncertain after a deal struck with Prime Minister Theresa May was roundly rejected by British lawmakers last month.
May told parliament Tuesday that she needs more time to talk about modifications to the rejected deal with EU officials, who have said they are not prepared to reopen negotiations.
Last week, Tusk raised hackles in London when he said: “I’ve been wondering what that special place in Hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.”
Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on Prime Minister Theresa May to take a no deal Brexit off the table, ITV reported on Wednesday.
Sturgeon said May and her government are being “increasingly reckless and negligent” by not ruling out a no deal Brexit, ITV said.
Unless May can get a Brexit deal approved by the British parliament, she will have to decide whether to delay Brexit or thrust the world’s fifth largest economy into chaos by leaving without a deal.
Donald Tusk says EU still waiting on ‘realistic’ Brexit offer, as Scottish first minister piles pressure on May
Donald Tusk says EU still waiting on ‘realistic’ Brexit offer, as Scottish first minister piles pressure on May
Japan restarts world’s biggest nuclear plant
- Japan wants to revive atomic energy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels
KARIWA: The world’s biggest nuclear power plant was restarted Wednesday for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, its Japanese operator said, despite persistent safety concerns among residents.
The plant was “started at 19:02” (1002 GMT), Tokyo Electric Power Company spokesman Tatsuya Matoba said of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture.
The regional governor approved the resumption last month, although public opinion remains sharply divided.
On Tuesday, a few dozen protesters — mostly elderly — braved freezing temperatures to demonstrate in the snow near the plant’s entrance, whose buildings line the Sea of Japan coast.
“It’s Tokyo’s electricity that is produced in Kashiwazaki, so why should the people here be put at risk? That makes no sense,” Yumiko Abe, a 73-year-old resident, told AFP.
Around 60 percent of residents oppose the restart, while 37 percent support it, according to a survey conducted in September.
TEPCO said Wednesday it would “proceed with careful verification of each plant facility’s integrity” and address any issues appropriately and transparently.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world’s biggest nuclear power plant by potential capacity, although just one reactor of seven was restarted.
The facility was taken offline when Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown in 2011.
However, resource-poor Japan now wants to revive atomic energy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing energy needs from artificial intelligence.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has voiced support for the energy source.
Fourteen reactors, mostly in western and southern Japan, have resumed operation since the post-Fukushima shutdown under strict safety rules, with 13 running as of mid-January. The vast Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex has been fitted with a 15-meter-high (50-foot) tsunami wall, elevated emergency power systems and other safety upgrades.
However, residents raised concerns about the risk of a serious accident, citing frequent cover-up scandals, minor accidents and evacuation plans they say are inadequate.
