EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 3.11.2010 
SEC(2010) 1290 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 
  
Accompanying document to the 
  
revised proposal for a CO UNCIL DIRECTIVE (Euratom) 
 
on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste  
COM(2010) 618 
SEC(2010) 1289 
 
EN 2   EN COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 
  
Accompanying document to the 
  
revised proposal for a CO UNCIL DIRECTIVE (Euratom) 
 
on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste  
1. I
NTRODUCTION  
This impact assessment accompanies a revised proposal for legislation on the management of 
spent fuel and radioactive waste in the Eu ropean Union, included in the Commission’s  work 
programme 2010. In the European Union, spent fuel  and radioactive waste arising from civil 
nuclear activities are dealt with under the Euratom Treaty.  
In 2003, the Commission proposed a Council Di rective (Euratom) dealing with the 
management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste and, in 2004, submitted an amended 
proposal to the Council. Afte r lengthy discussions, the Council called in its June 2004 
conclusions on Nuclear Safety and Safe Management of Spen t Fuel and Radioactive Waste 
for ‘extensive consultation’ with stakeholders before proceeding with any legislation on this 
matter under the Euratom Treaty.  
The Commission therefore undertook extensive consultation through different EU-wide 
initiatives in response to the C ouncil’s request. It consulted g overnments, national regulators, 
radioactive waste management organisations, ra dioactive waste producers and others in the 
Member States. Other EU inst itutions, non-governmental orga nisations and other partners 
were also consulted. A detailed contribution ma de by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators 
Group (ENSREG) was taken into account. This was of key importance, given the specific 
competence of ENSREG, which represents nati onal authorities competent on the safety of 
nuclear installations and of spent fuel and ra dioactive waste management, in Member States 
with and without nuclear power programmes. Speci al attention was given at the same time to 
the societal dimension through various public consultations, including dedicated 
Eurobarometer polls and an open public consu ltation. Radioactive waste is one of the major 
concerns of EU citizens. A large ma jority are in favour EU legislation. 
2. P ROBLEM DEFINITION  
All Member States produce radioactive waste. Radioactive waste and sp ent fuel are generated 
in many beneficial activities, such as nuclear power production and a ra nge of radioisotope 
applications in medicine, indus try, agriculture and research. Mo re than half of the Member 
States have nuclear power plan ts in operation. There are nuclear  reactors under construction 
and under decommissioning, and plans for new bu ilds. Radioactive wast e, including spent 
 
EN 3   EN fuel considered as waste, requires containm ent and isolation from humans and their living 
environment for a very long time.  
Whatever the future of nuclear power and non-power applications, the ‘end point’ of the 
management of all existing and future radioact ive waste must be dis posal in appropriate 
facilities, in order to ensure both safety and sustainability. This oblig ation cannot be left to 
future generations. The technical consensus worl d-wide is that storage of spent fuel and 
radioactive waste, even long-term storage, is  an interim solution re quiring permanent active 
control. It does not represent an  alternative to disposal, with its inherent passive safety 
features.  
Despite this consensus and developments in th e EU, the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency, ke y decisions on managing spent fuel and 
radioactive waste up to the end point are often still postponed. In many countries, this ‘wait-
and-see’ policy constitutes the main problem. To  overcome this situation there is a need for 
political commitment, public information and pa rticipation in decision making, as well as 
sufficient scientific, techni cal and financial resources. 
3. A NALYSIS OF SUBSIDIARITY  
The issue of spent fuel and radioactive waste management is clearly an area where national 
legislation has to be supplemen ted by EU legislation due to its cross-border aspect of the 
safety. At the same time, the internal mark et requires the Commission to ensure a level 
playing field to avoid distortion of competition. 
Existing EU legislation does not cover all activ ities and facilities related to the management 
of spent fuel and radioactive wa ste in the long term, neither as pects such as national policies 
and their implementation, nor public informati on and participation in the decision-making 
process. As a consequence, the existing inst ruments at EU level do not cover this field 
sufficiently. 
Following adoption of the Directive 2009/71/Eu ratom establishing a Community framework 
for the nuclear safety of nucl ear installations with  support by all 27 EU Member States and 
the European Parliament, the development of secondary EU legislation on spent fuel and 
radioactive waste management is the logical next step. 
The Safety Standards develope d and adopted by the IAEA in collaboration with other 
organisations are not legally bi nding and their inco rporation into nati onal legislation is 
voluntary. The Joint Convention on the Safety of  Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety 
of Radioactive Waste management, made under  the auspices of the IAEA, is the most 
significant international Treaty in the field of spent fuel and radioactive waste management. 
All EU Member States (except Malta) and the Euratom Community are Contracting Parties. 
However, the Joint Convention does not entail any sanctions fo r non-compliance. This means 
in summary, that the internationally accepted pr inciples and requirements, laid down in the 
IAEA Standards and the Joint Convention, do not  guarantee a uniform approach at EU level 
due to missing enforceability. 
Thus, at present, the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste remains a national 
responsibility. Further improvement is needed as to actions at national level in most Member 
States to ensure responsible management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.  
 
EN 4   EN 4. O BJECTIVES OF EU INITIATIVE  
The general policy objective is to set up a EU legal framework for the management of spent 
fuel and radioactive waste as an integral part of the safe and sustaina ble use of the nuclear 
energy for nuclear power production and of the ionising radiation in  medicine, industry, 
agriculture, research and educati on. The specific objec tives in respect of achieving the general 
policy objective are:  
– to ensure that workers and the general public  are protected against dangers arising from 
ionizing radiation now, in the fu ture and beyond national borders  
– to implement the highest safety standards for radioactive waste and spent fuel 
management; 
– to avoid imposing undue burdens on future generations; 
– to achieve sustained political commitment for the management of spent fuel and 
radioactive waste in the long term; 
– to ensure a transposition of the political deci sions into clear provisi ons for implementation 
of all steps on radioactive wa ste and spent fuel management from generation to disposal; 
– to achieve and maintain continuing improve ment of the management system, based on 
stepwise decision-taking and social acceptance. 
– to ensure adequate, available when needed and transparently manage d financial resources 
in accordance with the polluter-pays principle. 
5. P OLICY OPTIONS  
Three policy options are analysed in detail. 
Policy option 0  consists in keeping the current situation unchanged  (‘do-nothing’) .  
Policy option 1  consists in  strengthening at EU level th e internationally accepted 
principles and requirements for radioactive waste and spent fuel management , laid down 
in the Safety Standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency and in the Joint Convention, by rendering them both legally binding and enforceable at EU level. 
This approach includes the establishment of: – a Community framework which formulates  the general principles governing the 
management of spent fuel and radioactive waste in the EU; 
– national frameworks for spent fuel and ra dioactive waste management which allocate 
responsibilities and provide for coordination between relevant state bodies in the long 
term. 
Policy option 2 goes beyond policy option 1 by establishing in addition specific 
requirements for national programmes fo r radioactive waste and spent fuel 
management in the Member States.  
These requirements include scope, contents and review of national programmes for spent fuel 
and radioactive waste management. 
 
EN 5   EN 6. A SSESSMENT OF IMPACTS  
Policy option 0  would require ever-increasing effo rts for ensuring safety and knowledge 
preservation with time. It furthermore would entail increasing uncerta inties and risks as to 
political commitments, financing, fading of know- how, social conflicts, etc possibly leading 
to disruptions in the safe operation of long-te rm storage facilities a nd the implementation of 
disposal. Thus, policy option 0 involves potential ne gative environmental, economic and 
social impacts with time, including undue bur dens on future generations and a possible 
distortion of competition on the electricity market.  
Policy option 1  would contribute to achieving a uniform high level of safety of spent fuel and 
radioactive waste management at EU level in the short term. Therefore, it would have positive environmental, economic and social impacts which, however, are certain only for the short 
term. It could not guarantee positive impacts in  the long term, as that would depend on 
whether Member States timely plan and implemen t the disposal of their radioactive waste and 
spent fuel considered as waste.  
Policy option 2  would result in achieving a uniform high level of safety of spent fuel and 
radioactive waste management at EU level in  the long term, without imposing undue burdens 
on future generations and compromising the ability  of future generations to meet their own 
needs. Only this option has positive long-term environmental, economic and social impacts. 
7. C
OMPARISON OF OPTIONS  
Policy option 0 would not improve th e situation as to ‘wait-and-see’  policies. It is the view of 
all Member States, the European institutions, major stakeholders and the public that ‘do-nothing’ is no valid option. 
Policy option 1 would contribute to improving the management of spent fuel and radioactive 
waste at EU level in the shorter term as it makes the internationally accepted principles and requirements for radioactive waste and spen t fuel management legally binding and 
enforceable at EU level. However, in th e longer term, unjustified prolongations of the 
decision-making process and interim long-term st orage cannot be excluded under this policy 
option. Thus, this option does not guarantee the lo ng-term safety of spent fuel and radioactive 
waste management. 
Only policy option 2 would guarantee the long-ter m safety, increase the transparency of the 
decision making process and thus the sustainable management of spent fuel and radioactive 
waste management. It is strongly supported by  the stakeholders and the public, and it 
complies in the utmost degree with the positions  of the Council and the European Parliament. 
In the framework of the above considerations, policy option 2 appears to be the preferred one 
as it would guarantee the achievement of the ge neral policy objective. It is also the most 
effective option to avoid distortion of competition. 
8. M
ONITORING AND EVALUATION  
The indicators of progress towards meeting the political objective are: 
 
EN 6   EN – status of implementing the requirements fo r establishing a national framework for spent 
fuel and radioactive waste management allo cating responsibilities  and providing for 
coordination between relevant stat e bodies in the long term, and 
– status of implementing the requirements fo r scope, contents and review of national 
programmes for spent fuel and radioactive waste management. 
Member States would report to the Commission on the implementation of these requirements, 
taking advantage of the review  and reporting cycles under the Joint Convention. On the basis 
of the Member States ′ reports, the Commission will submit a report to the Council and the 
European Parliament on progress made.  
Member States will invite an international peer review of their national framework and 
national programme with the aim of continuously  improving the management of spent fuel 
and radioactive waste. Outcomes of any peer review will be reported to the Member States and the Commission.