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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(80)94
Vol.1980/0032

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COMMISSION
OFTHE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
GeneralSecretariatCOM(80)94 final
Brussels,5th.March1980
FOROFFICIAL USEONLY
INTERNATIONAL PLUTONIUM STORAGE SYSTEM
(Communication oftheCommission totheCouncil )
C0M(80 )9kFinal

communication oftheCommission totheCouncil
1.Introduction
Inacircularletterof13July1978'*,Mr.J.ZHELUDEV,
ActingDirector-General oftheIAEA,informedalltheAgencyMemberStates
ofastudypreparedbytheSecretariat onthe"organizational andinstitu­
tionalaspectsoftheinternational management andstorageofplutonium
andspentfuel".ThisletteralsostatedtheIAEA'sintentiontobringto­
getherconsultants fromtheMemberStatestostudybothofthesequestions
anddrawupproposalsconcerning them.
Sincethen,twogroupsofexpertsfromtheMemberStateshavemet
separatelyforthispurpose.AlltheCommunity MemberStates,withthe
exceptionofIrelandandLuxembourg,participated intheworkofthese
groups.The*Commission alsotookpartwiththestatusofanobserver.
ThegroupofexpertsassignedthetaskofexaminingtheSecretariat 's
studyonaninternational plutoniumstoragesystem(IPS)andofpreparing
proposals onthesubjecthasalreadyheldthreemeetingsofseveraldays
each Thisgroupwillbemeetingagainfrom5to9May1980.Afinal
meetingisplannedforOctober.Accordingtocertainparticipants ,that
meetingcouldbeputforwardandtakeplaceinJuly.AtthemeetinginMay
1980,theexpertswilldiscussadraftinstrumentestablishing theIPS
system.ThisdraftinstrumentwillbepreparedbytheIAEASecretariat on
thebasisoftheworkcarriedoutbythegroupofexpertsatthethreepre­
viousmeetings.
ItisalreadyevidentthatanIPSsystemtobeimplemented underthe
auspicesoftheIAEAcouldfindthesupportnecessarytobeproposedfor
accession bytheMemberStatesinthenottoodistantfuture.
(*)references oftheIAEA:SC/446
(**)on4-8December1978,7-9May1979and5-8November1979*

Provisions intheIAEAStatuteandtheEuratomTreatyconcerning
Plutoniumstorage
a)Inaccordance withArticleXII.5ofitsStatute,theIAEAcanrequire
thedepositingofallexcessspecialfissilematerialsrecoveredor
heldasby-products andnotactuallyused.Thisconcernsplutonium
inparticular .
Thisprovision comesw'thinthecontextoftheIAEAsafe­
guards,amongtheotherconventional safeguarding measures,suchas
notification ofthebasicfeaturesoftheinstallations ,accounting,
submitting reportsandundergoing inspections .
However,unlikethesemeasures,thedepositing inquestion
hassofarneverbeenapplied.
Thesystembeingconsidered atpresentbytheIAEAwould
consist,inimplementing theabovementionned ArticleXII.5byesta­
blishinganInternational PlutoniumStorage(IPS)systemwhichwould
bebasedmainlyonthedepositingofexcessplutoniumincentressuper­
visedbytheIAEA,amandatoryactfortheStatesparticipating inthe
system.Thisplutoniumwouldhavetobereturnedwithoutdelaytothose
concernedinaccordance withcriteriathatremaintobedetermined .
b)Article80oftheEuratomTreatyinChapterVII(safeguards),provides,
inadditiontothetraditional safeguards,forthedepositing,when*
sorequiredbytheCommission,ofexcessspecialfissilematerialsin
storeswhichareorcanbesupervised bytheCommission .TheCommission
hashithertonotavaileditselfofthispower.
Thisarticlealsostipulatesthattheseexcessfissilematerials
mustbereturnedforthwithtothoseconcernedattheirrequestinorder
thattheycanbeused.

3.
3.Possible role ofthe "international plutonium storage system
TheCommission considers that the IPSsystem could beameasure
capable ofproviding acontribution tothepolicy designed tominimize
the risk offissile materials being diverted forunlawful purposes ,wi­
thout jeopardizing energy supplies andthedevelopment ofthepeaceful
use ofnuclear energy .
Itsuffices topoint out inthis connection that several ofthe
Community 'smajor outside suppliers areseeking tohave aclause inser­
ted intheir agreements with Euratom totheeffect that theuranium
supplied totheCommunity cannot bereprocessed without their prior con­
sent .Acceptance ofsuch aclause would cause thenormal operation ofthe
nuclear industry tobesubjected touncertainties oreven unacceptable
obstruct+ons .Although itwould not betheonly possible solution ,anIPS
system with awide international membership should becapable allaying
the legitimate anxieties ofthesuppliers while avoiding thedisastrous
consequences ofsuch uncertainties orobstructions .
Inthis regard ,itisoftheessence that IPSshould beincluded
among themeasures ofaninstitutional nature towhich the INFCE refers .
Inaddition ,theimplementation ofany IPSsystem that might beset up
canbefitted without difficulty into themedium -orlong-term nuclear
strategy (nuclear triptych )which theCouncil approved on5February 1980 .
This fundamentally favourable assessment is,however ,only aprelimi­
nary one .Itcould only beborne outprovided theconditions forapplying
thesystem were themselves acceptable .Forexample ,theimmediate transfer
ofthestored plutonium tousers desiring it,inaccordance with objective
andnon-discriminatory criteria clearly laid down inadvance ,isasine
quanon foraccepting anIPSsystem ,since without it'IPS could hamper in
anunacceptable manner the legitimate activities ofthenuclear industry
within theCommunity .

NeedforCommunityparticipation inanIPSsystemsetupunderthe
auspicesoftheIAEAandembracing oneor.moreCommunity MemberStates
a)InviewoftheprovisionsoftheEuratomTreaty,particularly those
concerning safeguards,theMemberStateswouldnotbeabletopartici­
pateintheimplementation ofanIPSsystembytheIAEAunlessthe
Community wereinvolved.
Asalreadymentioned,international plutoniumstorageisitselfa
safeguarding measureforwhichprovision hasalwaysbeenmadeinthe
overalleconomyoftheEuratomandIAEAsafeguards systems.TheIPS
systemwouldthussupplement theconventional safeguards measuresal­
readyinforce,ofwhichitwouldform,asitwere,anextension,al­
thoughitdiffersinparticular fromthosemeasuresasregardsthepro­
ceduresanddecisionsthatitinvolves.Forpracticalreasons,therefor
anIPS"system-despitethespecificactionsthatitwouldnecessitate
wouldhavetobecloselyandharmoniously alignedwithcertainaspects
ofthetraditional safeguards system.
Thispracticalrequirement iscombinedwithalegalrequirement
basedonthefollowingtwoarguments.:
1°)InafieldinwhichtheCommunity hasdirectpowersunderthe
Treaty,theMemberStateswouldnot,evenbymeansofcollective ,
action,beabletoenterintointernational commitments likely
toaffecttheexerciseofCommunityresponsibilities :inother
words,theywouldnotbeableeithertocommittheCommunityor

5.
toreplaQeCommunityactionwithactionoftheirown.
2°)TheabsenceoftheCommunityfromanIPSsystemappliedwithin
theCommunitywouldprecludetotalapplication bytheCommission
ofChapterVIIoftheEuratomTreaty.Anyfutureapplication of
Article80bytheCommunitywouldobviously beimpossible .In
addition,IPSwouldbeliabletoprecludetheproperapplication
oftheotherEuratomsafeguarding measures,andinparticular
itsinspections .
Itcan'thusbeaffirmedthatanIPSsystemwouldcomeunder
Commuhityresponsabilityinthefieldofsafeguards .
b) InthesamewayasundertheConvention onthe
PhysicalProtection ofNuclearMaterials andtheEuratom-IAEA Verification
Agreement,participation bytheMemberStatesinIPStogetherwiththeCom­
munitywouldbenecessary.Suchparticipation wouldbeindispensable ,main­
lytoenableplutoniumtobestoredinacentrelocatedintheterritory
ofaCommunity MemberState.Inaddition,theimplementation ofcertain •
aspectsof'IPS,suchasthepolicemeasures,donotconcerntheCommunity
andcomesolelywithinthecompetenceoftheMemberStates.

6.
5.LegalbasisforCommunityparticipation inanIAEAsystem.ofIPS
andrequisitecompatibility betweensuchasystemandthecorres­
pondingprovisionsoftheEuratomTreaty
InordertouseArticle80oftheEuratomTreatyasthebasis
ofCommunityparticipation ,itwouldnotbenecessarytoapplythis
provisionautonomously andinadvancewithintheCommunity.
Association oftheCommunitywiththeIPSwouldautomatically
andimplicitlyinvolvetheapplication ofArticle80totheextent
necessarytofulfiltheinternational commitments thatwouldbeen­
teredintobytheCommunity.
Itwouldnonetheless beessentialforthesecommitments to
becompatiblewiththeprinciplesunderlyingthisprovision.Inpar­
ticularswheresotreslocatedonCommunityterritory wereconcerned,
itwouldbenecessaryforthemtobecapableofbeing"supervised"by
theCommission,sincetheCommunitywouldhavetotakepartinthe
operationoftheIPSmanagement mechanisms .Inaddition,itwillhave
tobepossiblefortheplutoniumstoredtobereturnedforthwithto
thoseconcernedifitwereneededforuse.
Consequently :
a)TheCommunitywouldhavetobeassociated withthesetting-upof
IPSwithintheCommunity,(e.g.)byobtaining aseatinwhatever
bodymightbeformedtomanagethesystem;
b)asalready,saidabovethecriteriagoverningthereturnofplutonium
woyldhavetobeobjectiveandclearlystipulatedinadvance,even
ifthisoperation hadtobecarriedoutunderthesupervision ofan
international organization ;anyamendment,moreover,wouldhaveto
besubjecttotheunanimousagreementoftheparticipants ;lastly,
provisionshouldbemadeforarbitration procedures .

7
6.Arrangements tobemadetoenabletheCommunitytoparticipate inany
multilateral agreementestablishing aninternational plutoniumstorage
systemundertheauspicesoftheIAEA
Atthestagereachedatpresentintheworkofthegroupof
expertsconvenedontheinitiativeoftheIAEA,itisnotyetpossible
todeterminewhetheranIPSsystemcanbesetupundertheauspicesof
thatAgencyandthepreciseformthatsuchasystemwilltake.Solutions
mustbefoundtoawiderangeoftechnical andinstitutional questions.
Toassesstheircomplexity,itsufficestomentionafewofthembyway
ofillustration :
Onwhatcriteriawilltheplacesofstoragebechosen?Whatisthemi­
nimumamountofplutonium thatwillhavetobestored?Underwhat
conditionswilltheplutoniumstoredbereleasedimmediately ?Isthere
notariskthattheadoptionofthe"immediateuseorcurrentuse"cri­
terionwillprovetobeincompatible withtheoperational requirements
oftheplutoniumindustry ?Whatarethemainproblemsrelatingtothe
relationsbetweenthetraditional safeguards andIPSandhowcouldthey
besolvedwithoutpointlessduplication ofeffort?Whatwillbethe
role'oftheexistingorplannedIAEAbodiesintheadministration ofthe
system?HowwillitbepossibletoadapttheIPSsystemtothediffe­
ringsafeguardssituationsinthevariousStateswithoutcreatingun­
acceptable formsofdiscrimination ?
Ifasufficiently broadconsensus canbefoundonthesolutions
tobeproposedforalltheproblemsinvolved,thetextofadraftmulti­
lateralagreementsettingupanIPSsystemcouldbeplacedbeforethe
IAEABoardofGovernorsforitsapprovalintherelatively nearfuture.
Itisnecessarythatwhatever -draftmultilateral
agreement maybeplacedbeforetheBoardofGovernorsforitsapproval
shouldenabletheEuropeanCommunitytoparticipate ar>dnottocontain
anyclauseprecluding theapplication oftheEuratomTreaty.Atthat
stageoftheprocedure,itwouldbedifficulttoamendthedrafttext
inquestion. 1

8.
Itisduring thework ofthegroup ofexperts ,therefore ,that
theCommission and theCommunity Member States must ensure that the solu­
tions that areadopted tosurmount thenumerous problems inherent inthe
implementation ofthesystem andthetext ofthemultilateral agreement
arecompatible with Community lawandwith thepolicies oftheCommunity
and theMember States onplutonium .
Forthis reason ,itwould behighly desirable forCommunity coor­
dination meetings tobeheld onthe spot -bythePresident oftheCouncil
just before thenext meetings oftheIAEA IPSGroup ofExperts .
Atthestage which hasnowbeen reached inthework ofthegroup
ofexperts ,itisstill tooearly todraw upafull andaccurate inventory
oftheproblems inrespect ofwhich theCommunity will have topress for
theadoption ofonesolution rather than another .Assoon asthis inven­
tory canbedrawn upandthere isasufficiently firm propect that crea­
ting anIPSsystem canbeintroduced ,itwill benecessary fortheCouncil
toissue directives totheCommission tonegotiate theCommunity 'sparti­
cipation ,along with itsMember States ,inthe IPSsystem which itisplan **
ned toorganize under theauspices ofthe IAEA .
X
*  
Accordingly :
(1)inview of,ontheonehand ,the role that aninternational plutonium
storage system (IPS)could becalled upon toplay inthefuture and,
ontheother hand ,ofthepowers conferred upon Euratom bytheTreaty
ofRome ,theCommission believes that itisnecessary for theCommunity
toparticipate inanIPSsystem which would beorganized under the
auspices ofthe IAEA and inwhich one ormore Member States would
participate inaddition totheCommunity ;
(2)theCommission proposes toplace before theCouncil attheappropriate
time adraft decision providing itwith thedirectives necessary to
negotiate theCommunity 'sparticipation ,together with itsMember
States ,inanIPSsystem to,beorganized under theauspices ofthe
IAEA ;

9.
(3)theCommission drawstheattentionofthePresidentoftheCouncil
forthwithtotheadvisability ofholdingon-the-spotCommunity
coordination meetingsjustbeforethenextmeetingsoftheIPS
GroupofExpertstobeheldinViennaundertheauspicesofthe
IAEA.