Financial cooperation with non-EU countries on nuclear safety 2021-2027

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (Euratom) 2021/948 establishing a European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation complementing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument — Global Europe

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It establishes the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation. This runs for the duration of the European Union (EU)’s multiannual financial framework (MFF) from 2021 to 2027. It sets out the programme’s:

general and specific objectives
amount, forms and rules of EU funding.

KEY POINTS

The regulation’s general objectives are to:

support a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection and application of efficient and effective nuclear material safeguards in non-EU countries;
build on EU activities within relevant European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) legislation;
encourage transparency of nuclear-related decisions in non-EU countries.

The instrument’s specific objectives are to promote:

an effective nuclear safety and radiation protection culture with the highest implementation standards and continuous improvement;
the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste and the decommissioning of former nuclear sites and installations;
efficient and effective nuclear material safeguards in non-EU countries.

The 7-year budget to implement the programme is €300 million (current prices). This may be used for:

grants
procurement contracts for services or supplies
remuneration of external experts
blending*.

Multiannual programmes:

provide the framework for cooperation between the EU and non-EU countries and regions;
indicate the EU’s goals in line with its own priorities, its partners’ needs and activities, and the international situation;
explain the added value of initiatives and how they avoid duplication with other programmes;
set out priority areas for financing, specific objectives, expected results and performance indicators;
are based on a dialogue with partner countries and relevant stakeholders.

The European Commission adopts:

the multiannual programmes, after consulting the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group when relevant, revising them — and updating if necessary — at least 4 years after they are adopted;
annual action plans based on the multiannual programmes and special and support measures, which specify for each non-EU country or region the
- objectives, management procedures and projects to be financed
- indicative timetable, expected results and main activities

The eligibility criteria for finance from the instrument:

give priority to people and entities from countries (acceding, candidate and potential candidate) that are eligible to apply for EU membership and to its closest eastern and southern neighbours in the European neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations;
allow international organisations and legal entities established in a long list of countries to participate in procurement, grant and prize-award procedures.

Non-EU countries wishing to cooperate with the EU must:

have ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;
implement an additional protocol or have concluded a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency;
subscribe fully to the fundamental safety principles stipulated in International Atomic Energy Agency safety standards;
be party to or in the process to join the relevant conventions, such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety (see summary) and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management;
adhere to the principle of transparency and public information.

The regulation makes it clear that EU cooperation on nuclear safety and security does not aim to promote nuclear energy.

Cooperation under the regulation:

targets:
- nuclear safety regulatory authorities and technical support organisations
- national agencies in charge of safe management of radioactive waste
- national stakeholders responsible for accounting and controlling nuclear material
- nuclear power plant operators;
covers:
- strengthening regulatory framework procedures and systems
- establishing effective arrangements to prevent accidents with radiological consequences
- developing and implementing the safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste
- supporting practical protective measures to reduce radiation-related risks to workers and to the public
- devising strategies to decommission nuclear installations, remediate former sites and recover and manage radioactive objects and material, including in the sea
- creating a regulatory framework to implement nuclear safeguards
- training personnel
- providing equipment to nuclear plant operators in exceptional and duly justified cases.

Monitoring measures to assess the impact of the instrument are based on the following indicators:

legal and regulatory acts prepared;
design, concept or feasibility studies to achieve the highest standards of nuclear safety;
results of nuclear safety, radiation protection and effective safeguard improvement measures.

The instrument:

must be consistent with the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument — Global Europe, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947 (see summary), EU common foreign and security policy activities and other relevant policies and programmes;
may be financially supported by other EU programmes, provided the contributions do not cover the same costs;
repeals Regulation (Euratom) No 237/2014.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2021.

BACKGROUND

Wherever nuclear energy is produced, the entire process, including disposing of radioactive waste and decommissioning power stations, must be done in a safe and secure way.

The EU uses its extensive experience in this area to help other countries achieve the highest standards of safety.

The regulation aims to increase the coherence and effectiveness of the EU’s external policies in order to implement the new international framework established by the United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the global strategy for the European Union’s foreign and security policy (see summary), the new European consensus on development (see summary) and Regulation (EU) 2021/947 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (see summary).

KEY TERMS

Blending: using limited grants to mobilise finance from institutions and the private sector to increase the development impact of investment projects.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/948 of 27 May 2021 establishing a European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation complementing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument — Global Europe on the basis of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and repealing Regulation (Euratom) No 237/2014 (OJ L 209, 14.6.2021, pp. 79-90)