Cosa c'è di interessante sulla casta italiana nell'archivio di Wikileaks: l'affare nucleare di Scajola

Wikileaks oggi ha deciso di pubblicare tutto il suo archivio su internet, chiedendo agli utenti di ricercare notizie interessanti nella mole dei documenti che si possono ora consultare attraverso il sito: http://cables.mrkva.eu/

Il sito attualmente è raggiungibile, ma non è dato sapere ancora per quanto.

Per questo motivo sarebbe opportuno spulciare i documenti per cercare qualcosa di interessante sulla "casta italiana" prima che l'archivio diventi irrangiungibile.

Dopo la polemica tra Assagne e il The Guardian, Wikileaks ha deciso di pubblicare tutto l'archivio senza filtri, come finora è avvenuto attraverso la selezione di una ventina di organi di stampa internazionali (in Italia si era affidato a La Repubblica) a cui periodicamente venivano inviati una parte dei documenti riservati.

Ora l'archivio intero è di dominio pubbilco, senza filtri, purtroppo non ho molto tempo, per cui chiedo a tutti di spulciare e pubblicare quello che si riesce a trovare di interessante.

Per il momento vi giro un documento che mi sembra abbastanza sintomatico della degenerazione politica italiana. Gli Stati Uniti erano entusiasti della legge votata nel 2008 in parlamento sul ritorno del nucleare in Italia, anche perchè i signori italiani dell'atomo avevano sottobanco già deciso di adottare la tecnologia americana dei AP1000, una tipologia di megareattore di III generazione prodotta dalla Toshiba-Westinghouse Electric Company. Gli affari delle multinazionali nucleari dovevano però sposarsi con l'italianissima cura del proprio orticello elettorale, tant'è che i documenti evidenziano gli interessi "liguri" dell'allora ministro allo sviluppo, Claudio Scajola.

In pratica governi, ministri e servizi segreti lavoravano in quei giorni affinchè andasse in porto il matrimonio tra l'Ansaldo Nucleare e la Toshiba Westinghouse

Il referedum popolare subito dopo il disastro di Fukushima,  ha fermato i loro affari ma non è detto che prima o poi non tornino all'attacco.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ROME 001284 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
NRC FOR COMMISSIONER DALE KLEIN 
NRC FOR THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL ENERGY COOPERATION DAS YOSHIDA 
DOE FOR OFFICE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY DAS MCGINNIS 
DOC FOR ENERGY, ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRIES OFFICE SARAH LOPP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2019 
TAGS: ECON, EINV, ENRG, IT 
SUBJECT: CONTINUED USG ENGAGEMENT IMPORTANT AS ITALY TAKES 
STEPS TO RETURN TO NUCLEAR ENERGY 
 
REF: A. A) ROME 1048 B) ROME 878 C) ROME 815 D) ROME 678 
     B. E) ROME 283 F) ROME 207 G) 08 ROME 1191 
 
ROME 00001284  001.2 OF 003 
 
Classified By: Classified By: ECMIN George White for reasons 1.4b and d 
 
 1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: The GOI is creating a nuclear energy 
regulatory agency, the first in a series of important steps 
in the government\'s efforts to bring back nuclear energy to 
Italy. Much remains to be done: Italy must win public support 
for nuclear power and find a solution to the nuclear waste 
problem. An October visit by Commissioner Dale Klein of the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) served to reinforce 
U.S. and Italian civil nuclear energy cooperation. 
Commissioner Klein\'s visit followed the September signing of 
two U.S - Italy nuclear energy cooperation agreements. USG 
engagement and re-newed nuclear energy cooperation with Italy 
is helping U.S. companies gain space here as alternatives to 
French technology. Italy\'s return to nuclear energy would 
strengthen Europe\'s energy security. We want to ensure that 
U.S. firms have the opportunity to participate in the massive 
project. Continued USG engagement is needed to advance both 
our energy security objectives and our commercial interests 
in Italy\'s return to nuclear power. End Summary. 
 
ITALY TO ESTABLISH NUCLEAR ENERGY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, BUT 
CHALLENGES AHEAD 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
2. (SBU) The GOI is in the process of creating the regulatory 
framework needed for Italy\'s return to nuclear power. The GOI 
plans to launch by late November the Nuclear Safety Agency 
(NSA) as the nuclear sector\'s regulatory body.  Expected 
bureaucratic delays, however, may keep the new agency from 
being fully operational until after early 2010.  The GOI will 
also issue over the next six months regulations setting the 
criteria for the new nuclear plant sites, compensation 
schemes for the regions that will accept nuclear plants, 
environmental protection requirements, and a one-step process 
in nuclear plant licensing approval. According to GOI 
officials, the Italo-French ENEL-EdF consortium that plans to 
build four (Areva EPR) nuclear power plants will submit in 
early 2011 the request for authorization to start 
construction for at least the first plant. The officials said 
the GOI has only until then to prepare the regulatory and 
institutional framework to handle these applications or those 
of other companies that may propose to build nuclear power 
stations.  They added that it will be a challenge for the GOI 
to put all of the regulatory framework in place in such a 
short time, but that the government is working to meet that 
deadline. 
 
3. (SBU) The GOI officials also cautioned that entrenched 
NIMBYism (not in my back yard) and the desire by the Italian 
administrative regions to retain authority over the 
construction of nuclear power plants may further stall GOI 
efforts. They explained that already ten out of the twenty 
Italian administrative regions filed a joint legal challenge 
to the July nuclear energy law that gave the GOI veto power 
over a region that blocks the building of nuclear power 
plants.  Prior laws give each of the twenty administrative 
regions shared approval authority with the GOI over energy 
projects, and the regions want to safeguard this authority. 
GOI officials added that despite majority Italian support for 
nuclear energy, local communities oppose nuclear plants and 
nuclear waste sites in their areas. 
 
NRC VISIT REINFORCES U.S.-ITALIAN NUCLEAR ENERGY COOPERATION 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
4. (SBU) During a late October Rome visit, the NRC\'s 
Commissioner Dale Klein met with senior GOI officials to 
provide advice and to offer Italy NRC assistance in 
establishing its new nuclear energy regulatory agency. 
Commissioner Klein recommended that the GOI give the new 
agency the necessary authority, resources and independence to 
guarantee the safety and security of planned nuclear power 
plants.  He stressed the importance of educating the Italian 
public on how nuclear energy can increase Italy\'s energy 
security. Klein also said NRC technical assistance programs 
are available to Italy. 
 
5. (SBU) Ministry of Economic Development Under-Secretary 
Stefano Saglia informed Commissioner Klein that Italy is 
working to diversify its energy mix away from gas dependency; 
the GOI wants increased use of renewable and nuclear energy. 
Saglia added that these two energy sources will also lower 
Italian carbon-dioxide emissions.  Saglia and other GOI 
officials agreed to consider the NRC\'s offer of assistance, 
and noted that USG help in establishing Italy\'s nuclear 
regulator would build local public trust in the new agency. 
 
USG COOPERATION ENHANCES OPPORTUNITIES FOR U.S. COMPANIES 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
6. (C/NF) U.S.-Italian nuclear energy cooperation is helping 
U.S. nuclear energy sector companies get a foothold in the 
future Italian nuclear energy market.  Italian Minister for 
Economic Development Claudio Scajola signed two nuclear 
energy cooperation agreements with Energy Secretary Chu and 
Department of Commerce U/S Hightower during his September 
U.S. visit.  Commissioner Klein\'s visit gave additional 
support to U.S. nuclear energy companies.  A Post 
co-sponsored public forum on nuclear energy featuring 
Commissioner Klein as keynote speaker and U.S. companies as 
panel members attracted a large audience of senior public and 
private Italian officials and local press coverage.  These 
positive developments have further increased the Italian 
profile of U.S. companies and have helped dispel the notion 
that the French are the only game in town. 
 
7. (C/NF) Encouraged, U.S. companies continue to position 
themselves for opportunities in the Italian nuclear energy 
sector.  Comments from government and Italian private sector 
officials continue to suggest that the Westinghouse AP-1000 
nuclear reactor design remains a strong contender for 
additional power plants beyond those proposed by the ENEL-EdF 
consortium.  Westinghouse\'s partnership with Italy\'s only 
dedicated nuclear energy supplier, Ansaldo Nucleare (AN), is 
also looked upon favorably here.  Minister Scajola is 
particularly keen for AN to play a leading role in the 
building of Italy\'s nuclear power plants as the company is 
based in his home region of Liguria.  GE-Hitachi told Post it 
has also decided to make a stronger push for its technology 
in Italy.  Other U.S. companies (Exelon, Battelle, Burns and 
Roe, Lightbridge and EnergySolutions) remain interested in 
Italy. 
 
8. (C/NF) Regulatory uncertainty and the high price of 
nuclear power plants may be keeping other energy companies 
from committing to build nuclear power plants in Italy.  ENI 
is the only other Italian company with the resources to do so 
on its own. ENI told Post that Minister Scajola has pressed 
the company to consider building nuclear power plants with 
Westinghouse technology, and that as a result the company is 
talking to Westinghouse to assess its options.  ENI stressed, 
however, that it has not yet made a decision. ENI further 
told Post that the company would remain reluctant to build 
nuclear power plants in Italy without GOI guarantees 
regarding recovery of its investments should a future 
government decide to reverse course.  Industry rumors suggest 
that Milan-based A2A and Germany\'s EoN may also be mulling 
over a decision to form consortia to construct one or more 
nuclear power plants.  A decision by ENI or other energy 
companies to build nuclear power plants here should provide 
U.S. companies, particularly GE and Westinghouse, with 
important new opportunities for contracts. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
9. (C/NF) The next twelve months will be a crucial period as 
the GOI will have to establish the regulatory framework to 
govern the new nuclear energy sector.  Lack of sufficient 
expertise and tight financial resources may hamper GOI 
efforts to get this framework right.  Regulatory efficiency 
is not Italy\'s strong suit. Critics, for example, already 
point out that the new nuclear regulator will start 
under-staffed and under-funded.  The GOI says it is serious 
about forging ahead, but the heavy lifting is only now about 
to begin.  For now, it appears that the GOI will welcome NRC 
and other USG agencies\' assistance in its efforts to develop 
an effective nuclear energy regulatory framework. The issues 
of nuclear power plant financing and investment guarantees 
remain important areas for the GOI to address, and for which 
USG technical expertise may help.  Continued USG engagement 
on Italy\'s nuclear power program will allow us to help keep 
on track a project that will benefit European energy 
security, while allowing us to help ensure that U.S. firms 
are treated fairly in this enormous endeavor. End Comment. 
THORNE