|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
European Governance in nuclear issues
Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations Transport of Radioactive Material |
 |
Past and present Commission activities within the EUIn the package of legislative proposals in the field of nuclear safety, adopted on 30 January 2003, the Commission is proposing a Directive on the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, which includes provisions establishing firm deadlines for the disposal of all solid radioactive waste in the Community. The Commission is also proposing a Directive setting out basic obligations and general principles on the safety of nuclear installations throughout the EU, which will also cover installations managing radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The activities of DG-TREN in the field of radioactive waste continued to be guided to a large extent by a legal basis, the Community Plan of Action in the Field of Radioactive Waste prepared many years earlier in DG XII (initially in 1980 and renewed on 15th June 1992 by Council Resolution 92/C 158/02), and by an Advisory Committee made up of experts nominated by the Member States that had been closely involved in DG XII's activities. A later Council Resolution dated 19th December 1994 (94/C 379/01) helped to define the Community strategy in this field. However, the Plan of Action is now effectively at the end of its mandate and the Commission's services are currently preparing new policy initiatives in this field. Setting up and encouraging co-operation, co-ordination and information exchange between the various bodies and organisations involved in radioactive waste management - as set out in the Plan of Action - are an integral part of the Commission's activities within the Community. Good contacts are maintained with the regulators and legislators, the waste management organisations, the nuclear industry, international bodies and non-governmental organisations. The Commission holds the chair of the Club of Agencies (high-level group of European national radioactive waste management organisations - most are listed on the links page) and the secretariat of the recently-formed Forum of Radioactive Waste Regulators (ad-hoc group of EU regulators involved in radioactive waste issues).
In the past the Commission has funded studies and projects on
many of the key topics in the radioactive waste debate. These have usually been
carried out by external contractors following a Call for Tender. Just a few of
the recent topics covered include
financing
schemes for storage and disposal of radioactive waste,
management
of used radioactive sources in the EU, management of wastes
from outside the nuclear sector with enhanced concentrations of natural
radionuclides (industry
in general,
oil and
gas industry,
water
treatment,
chemical
industry), and the importance of environmental impact
assessment (geological
repositories,
decommissioning of nuclear facilities,
Recent official Commission documents in this field include the Communication and Fourth Report from the Commission on the Present Situation and Prospects for Radioactive Waste Management in the European Union COM(98)799 and the Commission Recommendation on a Classification System for Solid Radioactive Waste (SEC(1999) 1302 final). More recently, DG-Energy & Transport has published in electronic form an interim situation report EUR20653 (available in EN, FR and DE) on radioactive waste management in the EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The report updates COM(98)799 to the end of year 2000.
|
||||||||
The
Commission's activities are also increasingly oriented towards the major problem
areas of radioactive waste management. These include, in particular, the various
issues related to geological disposal of high-level or long-lived radioactive
waste. Stimulating and raising the level of the debate on such topics as siting,
safety cases, environmental impact assessments, and public involvement,
information and acceptance form an important part of the activities (see results
of the