This second progress report, more than ten years after the Fukushima nuclear accident, acknowledges the advances made by the Member States with the implementation of the Directive 2009/71/Euratom. At the same time, it identifies areas where the step change in the regulatory framework and practice, envisaged by the Directive, has not yet been fully accomplished.

Further improvements in these areas are desirable and, in this respect, the current report presents a number of observations addressed to Member States (sections II and III on nuclear safety governance and safety of nuclear installations, respectively), resulting from the good practices and challenges identified in the evaluation and corresponding to the Directive’s thematic areas, with due consideration of national specificities. Taking account of these observations, the report makes specific key recommendations (section IV on conclusions and way forward) where there is scope for future action at EU level to continuously improve nuclear safety in the EU.

To ensure a broad picture of nuclear safety in the EU, the report takes into account: the national measures taken by the Member States to transpose the Directive; the outcomes of the  comprehensive risk and safety assessments (‘Stress Tests’) of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the EU and of the first TPR; the findings of international peer-reviews; issues raised by EU citizens and other EU institutions through complaints, petitions and questions; findings of commissioned studies.

A Staff Working Document accompanies and supports the report. It specifies in more details the thematic assessments of the national approaches carried out (and synthesised in the Report) and gives an overview of the types of nuclear installations, as reported by Member States.