The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) working group on fusion energy held its first meeting in Cadarache, France, on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May.
Established on 26 March 2026, it brings together representatives from the German, Finnish, French, Irish, Italian, Spanish and Swedish nuclear safety regulators, as well as the European Commission. The United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have observer status in the group. The role of this group is to assess the situation and, by the end of 2027, draw up recommendations for the European Commission to help it develop a legal framework for nuclear fusion.
Nuclear fusion is still at the experimental stage of development, but it is a promising technology because it produces less radioactive waste than fission. The international ITER project, inaugurated in 2023 and based in France, aims to build the world’s largest reactor capable of generating energy from nuclear fusion. (Original version in French by Nadège Guillaume-Delépine)