The European Commission is fulfilling its obligations in the field of nuclear safety under the Euratom Treaty, but updates are needed, says a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published on Friday 14 February.
For example, the ECA recommends “updating the legal framework, approaches and procedures currently used to assess the transposition of Euratom directives, to issue the opinions on nuclear investments and to check radioactivity monitoring facilities”.
Indeed, although nuclear safety is primarily the responsibility of the EU Member States that use nuclear energy, the Commission also has specific obligations in this area, mainly related to legislation and supervision, the auditors recall.
The report highlights, for example, that of the last three Euratom Directives - the Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Directive (2011/70/Euratom), the amended Nuclear Safety Directive (2014/87/Euratom) and the Basic Safety Standards Directive (2013/59/Euratom) - the Radioactive Waste Directive has not been properly implemented by all Member States.
The auditors also concluded that, while the 'European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange' (ECURIE) works well overall, the Commission could better follow up on lessons learned.
They further noted that the current framework for the preparation of opinions on the compatibility of Member States' nuclear investment projects with the Euratom Treaty is not up to date with the latest policy, legislative and technological developments in this sector.
Finally, the report advises reviewing and strengthening the procedures for verifying the effectiveness of Member States' facilities for monitoring the level of radioactivity in the air, water and soil.
To consult the report: http://bit.ly/2vx7jZs (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)