Brussels, 04/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Council of the EU will very soon give its approval (by written procedure, or without debate, during the Ecofin Council of 10 February) to a decision on the adoption of an additional nuclear research programme. This programme, which centres on the use of the high flux reactor (HFR) for a period of three years, will start on 1 January 2004. It calls for a financial contribution of 30.6 million EUR between the Netherlands (29.75 million) and France (0.9 million). The Commission will oversee the programme's implementation, together with the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The objective is the ensure the HFR will run for over 250 days a year, in order to guarantee the availability of neutrons for experimental purposes, for the development of safe nuclear technologies, research into matter for thermonuclear fusion, basic research and medical research and applications, and training in these fields.