Brussels, 30/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Commission adopted two proposals for a framework directive on the safety of nuclear power stations and on the processing of radioactive waste, after endorsement by the expert committee on nuclear issues (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.8) and the opinion of the Court of Justice of 10 December confirming Community competence in this matter. The proposals, which will be forwarded to the Economic and Social Committee (for opinion) and then to the Council and Parliament, are part of the "nuclear package" presented in November 2002 by Loyola de Palacio, Energy Commissioner, with a view to EU enlargement (see EUROPE of 6 November, p.14 and 7 November, p.8/9).
The first proposal aims to set in place common nuclear safety standards for all installations of the fuel and research cycle. The Council (enacting by qualified majority and after consultation with the Parliament) will use Commission proposals for fixing standards based on those of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Member States. These standards, to be operational from 1 January 2004, will be of an evolutive kind and will serve as a reference for controlling nuclear installations in each Member State. Controls will be carried out by national and independent safety authorities. Furthermore, experts appointed by each Member State will be responsible for verifying the way in which authorities of other Member States implement controls. This will allow the Commission to ensure application of these norms by the Member States and, where necessary, to impose sanctions. Every two years, the Commission will publish a report on the state of nuclear safety within the EU. As far as decommissioning funds are concerned, the proposal considers it should be the operators of installations who provide the funds albeit with outside management, in order to ensure their availability throughout the whole decommissioning process.
The second proposal concerns the processing of solid, liquid or gaseous radioactive waste. The Member States must have deep storage facilities on the basis of a very strict timetable (2008 for the designation of burial sites, 2018 for their setting in place for highly radioactive waste, and 2013 for the others). Research in this field must be intensified, and the Commission will later propose that a common undertaking be created responsible for managing and directing research funds intended for waste management.