ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(82)749
Vol.1982/0229

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
S\"ABrusselà,.17novembei 41982t-J\
V-M
Y*/?.eCfe-,VkSe>a/V
V/;-.
REVISIONOPTHECURRENTJRCPROGRAMMEFOR1983
(Communication fromtheCommissiontotheCouncil)
C0M(82)749final

ί
COMMUSlCAT!OHFROMTHECOMMISSION TOTHECOMCIL
Subject:RevisionofthecurrentJRCprogrammefor1983
JtttheoutooaeofthediscussionheldduringtheCouncilmeetingof
4Noveaberenresearch,itwasagreedthattheCoaaissionwouldproduce
adoouaentsettingoutitspositionontherevisionoftheJSCprogrume
for1983andtheguidelinesforthe1984-67pregnane,describingthe
solutionthatseeaedtoheemergingattheendofthediscussionand
providingsoaefurtherolarifioations requested "bytheMinisters *
WhereasthenodifioationoftheSuper-SARAprograaaeisrequiredfor
reasonsthathacvebeensetoutelsewhere,theCesotissionrecognizesthat
itisreasonablenettodiscusstheremainderoftheJSCprograaaeatthe
saaetiae:thelatterwillbediscussedin1983intheoontextofthe
fraaeworkprograaae.Thisisaadepossiblebythegeneralattitudethat
seeastobeeaergingwithintheCeunoilinfavourofaaintainingthe
balancebetweenthenuolearandjian-nuolearpartsoftheprograaae.
Thecontinuation oftheaotivitiesinthefieldoffastreactorsafety
andradieaotive wastethattheCeaaissionhadconsidereddiscontinuing or
reducingconsiderablyrepresentsanexpenditureof3aillionEDAin1983,
whiohdeesnotexertasubstantialeffeotontheprograaaeasawhole.
Questionsooncemingthereorganisation oftheinfrastructure willbe
tackledin1983intheoontextofdiscussions onthe1984-87four-year
prograaae.

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Thedecisionrequested ,thereforeconcernsexclusively theSuper-SARA
projectandrelatestotheprojectphasecoveringtheperiod1983-86
inclusive.Thisphaseinitiallyinvolvesthemanufacture and
qualification ofthefixedinstallations designedforcarryingoutthe
experiments,andistoculminatein1986withtheissueoftheoperating
license,thedivergenceoftheESSORreactorandtheperformance of
thefirstin-pileteststhatwilldemonstrate thefeasibilityoftheventure.
Theexecutionofthisphaserequiresclosecooperation withtheother
programmesonreactorsafety.(Thefederativenatureofthisproject
moreovercorrespondsnaturallytotheCommunitydimensionofnuclear
safetypolicy.)Itisonthisconditionthattheprogrammewillbeable
togoaheadasplanned.Ifthisworkistobecarriedout,temporary
increasesintheJRC'sstaffcomplementpeakingatapproximately 100posts
inexcessofthe2260figurewillhavetobeauthorizedduringthefirst
fewyearsofthephaseinquestion;thisexcesswillsubsequently be
eliminatedbymeansofstaffdepartures.
Inviewoftheforegoing,theappropriations forcommitmentrequiredfor
thewholeofthe1982and1983budgetsamountto27.5millionECU.
1millionECUhavealreadybeengrantedundertransfer30/82;
I6.5millionECUarethesubjectofatransferprocedurethathasalready
beeninitiated(No43/82);sincetheseappropriations willbeavailable
towardstheendof1982,theCommissionhasalreadymentionedtheneed
tocarrythemforwardto1983;
10millionECUshouldbethesubjectofatransferwithinthe1983budget
orasupplementary andamendingbudgetin1983.
TheCouncilonEconomicandFinancialAffairsv/illberequiredtostate
itspreferencebetweenthesetwosolutionsandtoapprovethefirstquota
ofadditionalpostsallocatedtoSuper-SARAin1983,i.e.57employees,
whichamountsto19morethanthe2260figure.TheCommissionformally
undertakestousenoneofthese57recruitment authorizations untilthe
decisiontorevisetheJRCprogrammeandcontinuetheSuper-SARAproject
hasbeentaken.
ThefirstsectionoftheattacheddocumentdescribestherevisionoftheJRC
programmefor1983,whichisstrictlyconfinedtotheSuper-SARAproject
andbasedonanacknowledgement oftheproject'srequirements forthe
period1984-86.Itispresentedintheformoftheconclusionthatshould,
intheCommission'sview,bethatoftheCouncil.

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Thesecondpartofthisdocumentgivesindications ontherepercussions
thataprogrammecomprisingtheSuper-SARAprojectwouldhaveandthe
mainconsequencesthatwouldresultfromtheabandonmentoftheproject.

I.DRAFTCOUNCILCONCLUSION
Inviewofthecharacteristics oftheSuper-SARAproject,inparticularitsexecutionphase,whichistolastuntil1986andrequiresthefollowing:
-anadditionalbudgetof27-5millionECUinappropriations forcommitment
forthewholeof1982and1983andanaverageadditionalallocationof
13millionECUayearinexcessofcurrentexpenditurefor1984t1985
and1986,whichwouldincreasetheprojectcommitmentstoanaverageof
some30millionECUayearduringthisperiod;
-atemporaryincreaseintheJRCstaffcomplementpeakingatsome100posts
morethanthe2260figure,whichwillbeeliminatedbymeansofstaff
reductionmeasures(seedocumentATO83,section1.3),
theCouncilhastakennoteofthefactthat:
-thecurrentstatusoftheadditional27*5millionECUfor1982and1983
isasfollows:
1millionECUhavealreadybeengrantedbyvirtueoftransfer30/82;
16.5millionECUarethesubjectofatransferprocedurethathasalready
beeninitiated(No43/82);
10millionECUshouldbethesubjectofatransferwithinthe1983budget
orasupplementary andamendingbudgetin1983;
theCommissionconsiderstheseamountssufficientprovidedthat:
-theexpenditure onlicensingrecentlydecidedbytheItalianGovernment
isnotchargedtotheCommunity ;andthat
-theamountsoutstandingundertheES30R1/78contractaremade
availabletotheCommission bytheItalianGovernment ;
sinceitsstaffcomplementof2260hasbeenreducedby38postsasa
resultofthetransferofthelattertotheoperatingbudget,theJRCrequires
additionalstaffinordertocarryouttheSuper-SARAproject,thefirstquota
ofwhichwillamountto57postsin1983,i.e.19postsinexcessofthe
2260figureauthorizedbythe1980-83programmedecision.Theseposts
willbeoccupiedbytemporarystaff,andtheirnumberwillbeoffset
bydepartures whentheabovementioned staffreductionmeasurescomeinto
force.

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Inthelight ofthis information ,theCouncil :
-decides that theexecution oftheSuper-SARA project will hecontinued
andthat the1983 revision ofthe1980-83 JRCprogramme will "be
confined tomeasures designed toput attheCommission 'sdisposal the
resources necessary forcarrying outthis project ,asdescribed inthe
foregoing ;
-instructs thePermanent Representatives Committee todraw upthe
necessary texts forimplementing this decision ;
-asserts itsintention oftaking itsdecision onthe1984-87 four-year
JRCprogramme inJune 1983 ,inthecontext oftheframework programme .

-6-
II.COMMENTS BYTHE COMMISSION
1.IMPLICATIONS OFTHEREVISION OFTHEPROGRAMME IN1983 ANDOF
THE CONTINUATION OFTHESUPER-SARA PROJECT
Many delegations have voiced their concern about theeffect that the
continuation oftheSuper-SARA programme could have ontheexecution
oftheother programmes .
Therevision oftheprogramme for1983 that theCouncil isnowbeing
invited toapprove inaccordance with theconclusion that emerged from
itsdiscussion of4November would enable resources not tobe
withdrawn from theother programmes in1983 .Itshould bestressed
inparticular that theactivities which ithadbeen envisaged to
discontinue orreduce considerably inthefield offast reactor
safety andradioactive waste will becontinued in1983 onascale that
issufficiently large toenable theCouncil todecide tomaintain
them infull orinpart inthe1984-87 programme .
Theamounts outstanding from theESSOR l/78contract -approximately
11million ECU-that theItalian Government istoputattheCommission 's
disposal will make itpossible toestablish areserve fortechnical
riBks amounting tosome 20$ofthespecific appropriations ,which will
afford financial protection fortheother programmes intheevent of
anunforeseen technical difficulty .
TheCommission retains itsintention ofconserving theoverall balance
ofthe1984-87 programme andinparticular ofproposing that thenon-nuclear
part oftheprogramme beincreased .
Lastly ,beyond thedirect scientific andtechnical value oftheSuper-SARA
experiment ,whose importance inthecontext oftheexperiments onlight
water reactor safety being prepared throughout theworld isreaffirmed
bytheCommission ,itisnecessary tostress thefederative nature ofthis
project onastrictly European scale ,which will group together alarge
number ofengineers working inpublic andindustrial establishments in
the Member States .

2.IMPLICATIONSOPAPOSSIBLE ABANDONMENT OPTHESUPER-SARA PROJECT
IftheCouncildoesnotdecidetocontinuetheSuper*-SARAproject,its
executionwillhavetobeabandonedforwantofadequateresources.
2.1In1983ibeforetheforthcoming programmedecision
Astudyofthepossiblealternativesforemployingthestaffthatgo
tomakeuptheprojectteamwouldnecessarily taketime,andtheir
redeployment wouldbedelayedproportionately .
Furthermore ,theESSORrealtoroperatingstaffandpartofthegeneral
servicesandsupportstaffandoftheprojectteam(i.e.atotalof
somel^Oemployees)wouldhavetobemaintainedintheirpostspending
theforthcoming programmedecisionwhichwouldhavetobeaccompanied
byadecisiononthefutureoftheESSORreactor.
CertaincontractsconnectedwiththeSuper-SARAprojectwouldhaveto
beterminatedagainstcompensation ,whichwouldinvolveadditionalcosts.
Allthingsconsidered,theamountofexpendituretobechargedtothe
Super-SARAprojectin1983shouldadecisionbetakentoabandon
itimmediately canbeestimatedatapproximately 7millionECU.
2.2Inthemediumtermandinthecontextofthe1984-87four-yearprogramme
TheESSORreactor,whichcanbeusedonlyforirradiatingarraysof
fuelrods,wouldhavetobedecommissioned .Anoperationofthiskind
couldbecarriedoutinfouryears,whilegraduallyreleasingapproximately
80employees,someofwhomcouldberedeployed.Asregardsthe
remainingemployees,newprogrammedecisionswouldhavetobeawaited.
Ifthiscourseofactionweretaken,thefour-yearprogrammeproposal
thattheCommissionwouldpresentwouldcomprisethefollowingfeatures:
(a)thetotalfinancialcostoftheprogrammewouldhavetobeincreasedas
aresultofphasingoutSuper-SARAandESSOR:

-8-
(b)intermsofstaff,theauthorizedcomplementproposed ,wouldtoe
2260posts.Mobilityconstraints wouldalsorequireinthiseasethe
possibilityofreplacingapproximately 100employees.Ontheotherhand,
theproposalwouldnotincludeatemporaryinoreaseofsome100posts;
(c)theCommissionwouldendeavour,asitisnowdoing,tostrike
abalancebetweenthedifferentprogrammecategoriesandinparticular
betweenthenuclearandnon-nuclear programmes .
2.3Overallfinancialaspects
Theinvestment madeintheESSORreactor,amountingtoapproximately
300millionECUatcurrentprices,wouldbelostforever.
Likewise,theamountsthathavehithertobeenallocateddirectlyto
Super-SARA,i.e.approximately 70millionECU,wouldhavebeenspent
withabsolutelynoreturn.
Investment onthephysicalprotectionoftheIspraEstablishment hasso
fartotalled9»5millionECU,ofwhichsome7millionECUwouldnothave
beennecessaryhadtheSuper-SARAprojectnotbeenenvisaged.
Ashasbeenexplainedinpoint2.1,adecisiontodiscontinue Super-SARA
in1983wouldcostapproximately 7millionECU.
Lastly,thedecommissioning properoftheESSORreactorcostapproximately
23millionECUspreadoverfouryears.