The European Parliament adopted by 565 votes to 88, with 31 abstentions, in the context of a special legislative procedure (consultation of the European Parliament), a legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council Regulation establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation.
Parliament approved the Commission proposal subject to the following amendments:
Strengthening the upholding of nuclear safety standards: as long as existing nuclear power stations remain in operation and new ones are being built, this instrument should aim to ensure that the level of nuclear safety in assisted countries reflects European safety standards, that such standards are upheld and that support for independent supervisory authorities is made a main priority.
Nuclear safety governance: Parliament stressed that a number of countries around the world are considering or planning to build nuclear power plants, which brings about a wide range of challenges and the need for creating adequate nuclear safety cultures and governance systems. It is necessary to find ways of improving the safety and security of nuclear power plants being developed close to the Union's borders, in particular where there is a lack of political cooperation with the Union. In this regard, stress tests should be carried out in all Member States and third countries concerned in order to detect potential safety hazards and the necessary measures to correct them should be implemented immediately. By acting within common policies and strategies with its Member States and by cooperating with international and regional organisations, the European Union is well placed to respond to global challenges and to coordinate cooperation with third countries. Priority should be given to ensuring support from independent supervisory authorities and to supporting their regulators, as well as multilateral regional and international structures which can strengthen confidence and the application of standards through peer review mechanisms.
Main objective: civilian nuclear: Parliament stipulated that the European Union finances measures seeking to support the promotion of a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear material in third countries, in line with the provisions of this Regulation. This will ensure that nuclear material is used only for the civilian purposes for which it is intended.
Specific objectives: amongst the specific objectives, the following have been included:
- responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste ;
- decommissioning and remediation of former nuclear sites and installations in third countries.
Financed measures: the objectives shall be achieved primarily through the following measures:
(a) support for regulatory bodies to ensure their independence, competence and development and for investment in human resources;
(b) support for measures to strengthen and implement the legislative framework;
(c) support for the design and implementation of safety assessment systems based on standards similar to those applied in the European Union;
(d) cooperation in the following areas: expertise, experience and skills development, accident management procedures and accident prevention, strategies for responsible and safe management of spent fuel and decommissioning strategies.
The measures shall include a substantial element of knowledge transfer (expertise sharing, support for both existing or new education and training programmes in the area of nuclear safety) in order to reinforce sustainability of the results achieved.
Specific measures supported by this Regulation and criteria applying to nuclear safety cooperation are detailed in the Annex.
The financial, economic and technical cooperation provided under this Regulation shall be complementary to that provided by the Union under other development cooperation instruments.
Eligible countries: in providing aid under this instrument, priority shall be given to countries beneficiaries of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and the European Neighbourhood Instrument.
Financial envelope: in accordance with the Regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020, the financial reference amount for the implementation of this Regulation is EUR 225 321 000.
Strengthening the consistency and complementarity of actions to avoid duplication: there is a need to ensure better coordination, consistency and complementarity of efforts in the field of nuclear safety on EU and national levels, but also with other international, local and regional organisations, in order to avoid overlaps and maximise the effects of financing.
In implementing this Regulation, coherence shall be ensured with other areas and instruments of the Union external action, as well as other relevant Union policies. The Union and the Member States shall coordinate their respective support programmes with the aim of increasing effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of support and policy dialogue in accordance with the established principles for strengthening operational coordination in the field of external support, and for harmonising policies and procedures. Coordination shall involve regular consultations and frequent exchanges of relevant information during the different phases of the support cycle.
The Union shall, in liaison with the Member States, take the necessary steps to ensure proper coordination and cooperation with multilateral and regional organisations and entities, including, but not limited to, European financial institutions, international financial institutions, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, private and political foundations and non-Union donors.
The programme shall be complementary to that provided by the Union under other development cooperation instruments and the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014 - 2020) (´Horizon 2020`) and the Research and Training programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2014 - 2018) complementing Horizon 2020.
Reporting: the Commission shall review the progress achieved in implementing the measures taken pursuant to this Regulation and shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a biannual report on the implementation of the cooperation assistance.
The report shall contain information relating to the previous two years on the measures financed, information on the results of monitoring and evaluation exercises and the implementation of budget commitments and payments, broken down by country, region and type of cooperation, as well as the plans of third countries in the area of nuclear safety.
Annexes: a series of amendments have been made to the Annex of the future Regulation following amendments made in Plenary.