Tag Archives: Atomic energy

Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Energy > Nuclear energy

Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities

Document or Iniciative

Council Decision 2007/513/Euratom of 10 July 2007 approving the accession of the European Atomic Energy Community to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities.

Summary

The new Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities is aimed at ensuring effective physical protection during the use, storage or transport of materials used for peaceful purposes, as well as preventing and fighting crime associated with this material and these facilities. It is based on the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), to which all the Member States of European Union (EU) are party.

It is the task of each State that is party to the convention to establish and implement measures to guarantee this effective protection to prevent, in particular, the theft or disappearance of nuclear material for which it is responsible, as well as sabotage of nuclear facilities on its territory. The Euratom Treaty is broader in that it states that Member States must prevent any misappropriation of nuclear material for purposes other than those for which it is intended.

In implementation of the Convention, the States that are party to the Convention must respect a certain number of basic principles, in particular the principles of responsibility of the State and licence-holders, of a culture of security, insurance and confidentiality.

The contracting States must ensure that the nuclear material they import, export or accept in transit on their territory is protected in accordance with the applicable safety level.

The contracting States must designate a competent authority responsible for the application of the Convention, as well as a point of contact, and give this information to the other Member States directly or through the intermediary of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Furthermore, they must cooperate in the event of theft, sabotage or risk of theft or sabotage. This cooperation in particular takes the form of an exchange of information, while respecting the confidentiality of this information vis-à-vis third parties.

The contracting States must apply appropriate penalties to certain infringements, in line with their severity. In particular, it is punishable to act without authorisation in a way that causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury, theft of nuclear material, sabotage of a nuclear installation, the threat of using nuclear material to cause death or serious injury of a third party or cause significant damage to property; attempts to commit one of these acts, involvement in such acts and organisation thereof are also punishable.

Any contracting State has jurisdiction for infringements committed on its territory or on board a vessel or aircraft registered in the said State and when the person presumed to have committed the infringement is a native of the said State. These infringements are grounds for extradition between the contracting States, who must also provide each other with the most extensive judicial assistance in the event of these infringements. Political motives for the infringement are not a reason for refusing extradition or mutual judicial assistance.

The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) was adopted in 1979 and entered into force in 1987. It was amended in 2005 at a conference held with a view to strengthening its provisions. A conference for review of the amended convention must be organised 5 years after entry into force of the amendment agreed in 2005.

References

Act	Entry into force	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Decision 2007/513/Euratom	10.7.2007	–	OJ L 190, 21.7.2007

Nuclear energy

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Nuclear energy

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Energy > Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy

Nuclear power stations currently produce around a third of the electricity and 15% of the energy consumed in the European Union (EU). The sector represents a source of energy with low carbon levels and relatively stable costs, which makes it attractive from the point of view of security of supply and fighting climate change. It is up to each Member State, however, to decide whether or not to pursue the option of nuclear power. The ground for nuclear energy in Europe was laid in 1957 by the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Its main functions consisted of furthering cooperation in the field of research, protecting the public by establishing common safety standards, ensuring an adequate and equitable supply of ores and nuclear fuel, monitoring the peaceful use of nuclear material, and cooperating with other countries and international organisations. Specific measures adopted at EU level are geared to protecting the health of those working in the sector and of the public at large, and protecting the environment from the risks associated with the use of nuclear fuel and the resulting waste.

EURATOM

Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)
Euratom Supply Agency
Seventh Framework Programme: Euratom
Nuclear Illustrative Programme

NUCLEAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy
ITER: Euratom/Japan agreement on nuclear fusion

NUCLEAR SAFETY

Nuclear non-proliferation
Dangers arising from ionising radiation
Safety of nuclear installations
Convention on Nuclear Safety
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities
Control of high-activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources
Education and training in the nuclear energy field
Safeguarding nuclear materials
Cooperation with Non-EU Member Countries on nuclear safety
Operation and efficiency of facilities for monitoring the level of radioactivity in the air, water and soil – Report 1990-2007

NUCLEAR WASTE

Shipments of radioactive substances
Shipments of radioactive waste: supervision and control
Management of spent fuel and radioactive waste
European system for registration of carriers of radioactive materials (Proposal)

Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy

Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy

Topics

These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.

Research and innovation > Research in support of other policies

Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy

Document or Iniciative

Council Decision 2007/198/Euratom of 27 March 2007 establishing a Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy and conferring advantages upon it.

Summary

This Decision establishes a Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy for a period of 35 years starting on 19 April 2007. It has its seat in Barcelona in Spain.

The members of the Joint Undertaking are Euratom, represented by the Commission, the Member States of the European Union (EU), and certain third countries which have concluded cooperation agreements with Euratom in the field of controlled nuclear fusion. At the time of establishment of the Joint Undertaking, the third country in question is Switzerland.

The objectives of the Joint Undertaking are to provide Euratom’s contribution to the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization and to “Broader Approach” activities with Japan for the rapid realisation of fusion energy, and to prepare and co-ordinate a programme of activities in preparation for the construction of a demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO) and related facilities including the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF).

In addition to its other activities, the main tasks of the Joint Undertaking are to oversee the preparation of the site for the ITER project, to provide the ITER Organization with material, financial and human resources, to co-ordinate scientific and technological research and development activities in the field of fusion, and to act as an interface with the ITER Organization.

The total financial resources required for the Joint Undertaking are estimated to amount to 9 653 million euros, with a contribution from Euratom of 7 649 million euros (subject to a maximum of 15 % for administrative costs).

The Joint Undertaking has legal personality. Its organs are:

the Governing Board, consisting of two persons per member of the Joint Undertaking and assisted by the Executive Committee;
the Director, who is responsible for representing the Joint Undertaking and seeing to the day-to-day running of the Organization, including signing contracts.

The contractual liability of the Joint Undertaking is governed by the contract in question and the law applicable to it. The Court of Justice has jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in such contract.

Furthermore, the Joint Undertaking will incur non-contractual liability, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States, in respect of any damage caused by itself or its servants in the performance of their duties. The Court of Justice has jurisdiction in any dispute relating to compensation for such damage. In addition, the Court of Justice has jurisdiction to rule on appeals brought against the Joint Undertaking.

Background: ITER

Fusion energy, together with renewable energy sources and fission energy, is one of the three alternatives to fossil fuels. It is by far the most widespread in the universe – it is the source of energy radiated by the sun and other stars – but the least developed on earth of these three non-fossil energy sources.

The JET (Joint European Torus) project, established in 1978, contributed to advanced research in the field of fusion energy for several years. From 1988, the development of the ITER project represented a new stage in the field of fusion which culminated in 2001 in a detailed design for a research facility aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of fusion as an energy source from which the EU could derive significant benefit, in particular in the context of ensuring the security and diversity of its long-term energy supply.

In November 2003, the European Council authorised the Commission to put forward France as the ITER host state and Cadarache as the ITER site and decided that the Domestic Agency for Euratom should be located in Spain.

References

Act	Entry into force – Date of expiry	Deadline for transposition in the Member States	Official Journal
Decision 2007/198/Euratom	19.4.2007	–	OJ L 90 of 30.3.2007.

Related Acts

Proposal for a Council Decision, of 19 May 2006, concerning the conclusion, by the Commission, of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project, of the Arrangement on Provisional Application of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation on the ITER Project and of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project [COM(2006) 240 final – Official Journal C 184 of 8.8.2006].
The proposal for a decision was adopted by the Council on 25 September 2006. It authorises the Commission to negotiate an agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), China, South Korea, the United States of America, India, Japan and Russia, on the creation of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the joint implementation of the ITER project. It also approves the conclusion of a provision on the provisional application of the agreement.

Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 on budgetary discipline and sound financial management as regards the multiannual financial framework, to address additional financing needs of the ITER project [COM(2010) 403 final – Not published in the Official Journal].In response to the Council conclusions of 12 July 2010 on the short-term additional financing need of the ITER project for commitment appropriations of EUR 1.4 billion (EUR 800 million in 2012 and EUR 600 million in 2013), in current prices, for 2012 and 2013, this Commission proposal aims at providing an amount of EUR 400 million by means of a revision of the multiannual financial framework while keeping the overall ceiling for commitment and payment appropriations over the period 2007-2013 unchanged. At the same time, an additional amount of EUR 460 million will be covered through redeployment from the Seventh Research Framework Programme. The commitment for financing the remaining amount of EUR 540 million shall be secured at a later stage, starting with the budgetary conciliation in November 2010, and then, if need be, the following annual budgetary procedures by using all budgetary means foreseen in the multiannual financial framework.

Communication of 4 May 2010 from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – ITER status and possible way forward [COM(2010) 226 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

This Communication notes the need to set out the governance and financial conditions for ITER.
In 2001, the cost of this project had been estimated at EUR 5.9 billion, with the EU contributing 45 % of that amount. The cost to the EU now amounts to EUR 7.2 billion according to the F4E Governing Board (the European Domestic Agency “Fusion For Energy”) which met in March 2010. This cost increase has resulted in a financing gap. It is therefore important to improve the governance of the ITER project in order to stop costs getting out of hand, but also in order to define a viable financial framework.
With regard to financing, the Commission therefore envisages two options:

implementing complementary financing from Member States;
setting financial perspectives ceilings at appropriate level.

The European Commission invites the Council and the European Parliament to adopt a decision appropriate to the current circumstances.

Communication from the Commission of 28 April 2003, entitled: State of progress of the negotiations concerning the ITER international nuclear fusion energy research project [COM(2003) 215 final – Not published in the Official Journal].