Proposal for a Council Directive on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and nuclear spent fuel
Date: 2005-12-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: cross-border transport, export monitoring, export of waste, health risk, irradiated fuel, radioactive waste, transport of dangerous goods

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.12.2005 
COM(2005) 673 final 

2005/0272 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and nuclear spent fuel 

(presented by the Commission) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  revision  process  of  Directive  92/3/Euratom  of  3  February  1992  on  the  supervision  and 
control  of  shipments  of  radioactive  waste  between  Member  States  and  into  and  out  of  the 
Community  was  initiated  in  2001  in  the  context  of  the  fifth  phase  of  the  SLIM  initiative 
(Simpler  Legislation  for  Internal  Market;  SLIM  V),  with  a  view  to  making  Directive  92/3 
Euratom  more  user-friendly  and  transparent.  See  the  Report  from  the  Commission  on  the 
Outcome of the 5th Phase of SLIM1. 

Modifications in the provisions of Directive 92/3 are justified by four different reasons:  

–  Consistency  with  latest  Euratom  Directives:  Directive  96/29/Euratom  of  13  May  1996 
laying  down  basic  safety  standards  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  workers  and  the 
general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation2, and Council Directive 
2003/122/Euratom of 22 December 2003 on the control of high-activity sealed radioactive 
sources and orphan sources, in particular the wording of the provisions on reshipment of 
radioactive sealed sources. 

–  Consistency with international Conventions, in particular in view of the ongoing accession 
of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) to the IAEA Joint Convention on 
the Safety of Spent fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management 
(thereinafter “Joint Convention”). 

–  Clarifying the procedure in practice and improving the Directive structure. 

–  Extension of the scope to spent fuel. Under Directive 92/3, spent fuel for which no use is 
foreseen is considered as “radioactive waste” and shipments of such materials are subject 
to  the  uniform  control  procedure  laid  down  in  the  Directive.  Shipments  of  spent  fuel  for 
reprocessing  are  on  the  contrary  not  subject  to  such  a  procedure.  This  leads  to  the 
inconsistency that the same material is or is not subject to this procedure depending on its 
intended use. 

The  SLIM  report  recognised  “that  the  example  of  the  Joint  Convention  on  Safety  of  Spent 
Fuel  Management  and  on  the  Safety  of  Radioactive  Waste  Management  would  suggest  that 
the scope of the Directive be extended to cover also spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing”. No 
direct recommendation was however made, because the SLIM team considered this as “going 
beyond its mandate in the framework of the SLIM V initiative”. 

The Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal submitted by 
the  Commission  endorsed  the  extension  of  the  scope  to  shipments  of  spent  fuel  for 
reprocessing (see point 5 below). 

In view of the foregoing circumstances, and because from a radiological point of view there 
would be no reason not to apply the procedure laid down in Directive 92/3 to all shipments of 

1 

2 

Commission  Staff  Working  Paper,  Simpler  Legislation  for  the  Internal  Market  (SEC  (2001)1977), 
transmitted to the Council and the European Parliament on 5th December 2001. 
OJ L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
spent  fuel,  it  is  deemed  appropriate  to  extend  the  scope  of  the  Directive  as  explained.  The 
administrative  burden  for  those  shipments of  spent fuel which would concern only Member 
States who have concluded an agreement that this will be for the purpose of reprocessing can 
be kept very low. 

2. 

SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

While the Community is responsible for establishing uniform rules in the radiation protection 
field in order to achieve a high level of health protection of workers and the general public, it 
falls  on  the  Member  States  to  transpose  into  their  national  legislation  such  rules  and  to 
implement them.  

When  considering  the  existing  requirements  concerning  shipments  between  Member  States, 
there  is  no  ambiguity  as  to  the  roles  of  the  Community  and  the  Member  States  under  the 
existing system of prior authorisation and control of shipments of radioactive waste laid down 
by Directive 92/3.  

This proposal for a Directive does not fundamentally modify this existing prior authorisation 
system. The  task of  controlling  shipments through a specific mechanism remains within the 
competence of Member States. 

3. 

COSTS  OF  IMPLEMENTING  THE  PROPOSAL  FOR  MEMBER  STATES  AND  THE 
COMMUNITY 

3.1. 

Costs to the Member States 

The proposed amendments do not modify the existing scheme under Directive 92/3. The fact 
of extending  the procedure  also  to shipments of  spent fuel intended for reprocessing  should 
not imply considerable extra costs to the Member States, the costs being easily absorbed by 
the administrative infrastructures already in place. 

The  procedure  being  now  clarified  in  some  key  aspects  (certainty  concerning  spent  fuel, 
generalisation of automatic consent, use of languages, user-friendly structure of the Directive 
provisions, etc.), the new Directive will allow delays to be avoided in carrying out shipments, 
thus reducing their administrative cost. 

3.2. 

Costs to operators 

The  extension  of  the  authorisation  procedure  also  to  shipments  of  spent  fuel  intended  for 
reprocessing should not imply additional costs to nuclear operators, as shipments of this kind 
are  already  covered  in  the  Member  States  by  some  kind  of  administrative  procedure  on  the 
basis of Directive 96/29. 

The  procedure  being  now  clarified  in  some  key  aspects  (certainty  concerning  spent  fuel, 
generalisation of automatic consent, use of languages, user friendly structure of the Directive 
provisions, etc), the new Directive will allow delays to be avoided in carrying out shipments, 
which is beneficial to the operators concerned. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
3.3. 

Costs to the Community 

There will be no impact on the Community budget. 

The  various  obligations  upon  the  Commission  arising  from  this  Directive  (concerning 
reporting,  establishment  and  updating  of  standard  document,  publication  of  lists  of 
authorities) already exist on the basis of Directive 92/3. 

Similarly,  the  Advisory  Committee  to  be  set  up  under  Article  16  corresponds  to  the 
Committee which already exists under Article 19 of Directive 92/3. 

4. 

CONSULTATIONS WITH INTERESTED PARTIES 

The representatives of the competent authorities in charge of the implementation of Directive 
92/3 Euratom (Committee provided for in Article 19 of Directive 92/3) were consulted on the 
draft revision of the Directive at a meeting held on 18 October 2002. 

The  Group  of  Scientific  Experts  provided  for  in  Article  31  Euratom  was  consulted  on  the 
revision of Directive 92/3 during its meeting on December 2002 and gave its support to it. 

During  the  first  semester  of  2005,  the  Commission  also  received  informal  feed-back  on  the 
draft proposal from the national authorities and from the industry. 

5. 

CONSULTATION OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE (EESC) 

The  Commission  submitted  on  12th  November  2004  to  the  EESC,  for  opinion,  the  Proposal 
for a Council Directive on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and 
spent fuel, adopted on the same day (COM(2004) 716 final). 

The EESC delivered its opinion on 8th June 2005. It supported the revision of the Directive 
undertaken  by  the  Commission  and  welcomed  the  generalisation  of  the  automatic  consent 
procedure. 

It  however  drew  the  Commission’s  attention  to  the  need  to  redefine  the  rules  on  transit,  in 
order  to  ensure  their  compatibility  with  the  principles  of  the  nuclear  common  market,  in 
particular as far as shipments of spent fuel for reprocessing are concerned. 

It further asked for clarifying the rules on imports and exports and to redefine more precisely 
the grounds entitling a state of transit or destination to refuse consent. 

6. 

PROVISIONS OF THE PROPOSAL 

6.1. 

Subject matter and scope (Article 1) 

Article 1(1): For reasons of legislative technique, the purpose of the Directive is now clearly 
stated.  This  Directive  supplements  Directive  96/29/Euratom,  under  which  Member  States 
have set out a system of reporting and authorisation of practices involving a risk from ionising 
radiation, and its purpose is thus consistent with those in Directive 96/29: health protection.  

Article 1(2): The provision in Article 1(1) of Directive 92/3 has been reworded so that: 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
It  takes  into  account  the  new  conditions  set  in  Articles  3.2  (a)  and  (b)  of  Directive 
96/29/Euratom  (quantities  and  concentration  of  radionuclides).  A  dynamic  reference  to  this 
Directive is made. 

It is clarified so as to cover shipments involving the same country of origin and of destination, 
when such a shipment concerns a different country of transit. 

Shipments of spent fuel not considered as waste are now also subject to the procedures laid 
down in the Directive. 

Article  1(3):  This  corresponds  to  the  contents  of  Article  13  of  Directive  92/3,  concerning 
disused sources but its wording has been simplified and adapted to the provisions of Directive 
2003/122.  This  exemption  now  covers  all  shipments  of  disused  sources  to  a  supplier, 
manufacturer or recognised installation (as described in Article 3(2)(a) of Directive 2003/122, 
as  a  part  of  the  safe  management  of  the  source  when  it  is  no  longer  used),  and  not  just  the 
cases  where  the  source  is  “returned  by  its  user  to  the  supplier  of  the  source  in  another 
country”, as under Directive 92/3. 

The  right  place  of  this  provision  seems  to  be  Article  1,  as  it  delimits  the  scope  of  the 
Directive. 

6.2. 

Reshipments related to processing and reprocessing operations (Article 2) 

The  provision  in  Article  14  of  Directive  92/3  has  now  been  moved  to  Article  2.  The  term 
“waste” has been replaced by “radioactive waste”. The words “exported” have been replaced 
by  “shipped”,  in  order  to  also  cover  those  reshipments  from  a  Member  State  to  another 
Member State. It is considered that, similarly to the case of the reshipping after reprocessing, 
the  right  to  return  the  radioactive  waste  after  treatment  also  covers  “other  products  of  the 
processing operation”. The right to return to its country of origin radioactive waste and other 
products of processing and reprocessing operations does not exonerate from the authorisation 
procedure.  

6.3. 

Definitions (Article 3) 

Definitions have been modified as follows: 

The definitions of “Radioactive waste”, “Spent fuel”, “Disposal” and “Storage” have been 
brought into line with the definitions in the Joint Convention, with some adaptations: 

(a) 

“radioactive waste”: the reference to “Contracting Party” has been replaced by 
“country of origin and destination” in the first part of the definition; the second 
part has been adapted so that to cover e.g. situations where scrap metal being 
shipped is detected as being “radioactive scrap metal” (at the country of origin, 
transit  or  destination)  and  has  therefore  to  be  consider  by  the  country 
concerned  as  radioactive  waste,  independently  of  the  “use  foreseen  by  the 
countries of origin and destination” 

This  is  in  line  with  the  statement  made  by  the  Commission  when  Directive 
2003/122  was  adopted:  “The  Commission  confirms  that  the  need  to  regulate 
the  question  of  export  and  import  of  undeclared  radioactive  contaminated 
metallic  material  which  may  contain  orphan  sources  may  be  addressed  in  the 
to  Council  Directive 
framework  of  discussions  on  an  amendment 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
92/3/EURATOM  on  the  supervision  and  control  of  shipments  of  radioactive 
waste between Member States and into and out of the Community.” 

(b) 

“disposal”: the words “appropriate facility” have been replaced by “authorised 
facility”. 

“Shipment”  now  covers  both  shipments  of  radioactive  waste  and  shipments  of  spent  fuel. 
This allows a single term to be used to refer to shipments of all these materials and makes it 
unnecessary to repeat the whole expression. The expression “including transport, loading and 
unloading for disposal or storage” has been deleted because already implicit in the definition. 

“Intra-community  shipments”  and  “extra-community  shipments”  are  defined,  following  the 
new structure of the Directive. 

More preciseness is given to the following definitions: “Holder”, where the word “intends” 
has  been  replaced  by  “plans”  (see  comments  on  Article  4);  new  definitions  are  given  for 
“Country of origin” and “Country of destination”, which replace the existing “place of origin 
and place of destination”, and for “Country of transit”. 

“Territory” is defined in line with the EESC’s proposal. 

The  definition  of  “Sealed  source”  has  been  taken  from  Directive  96/29;  those  of  “disused 
source” and “recognised installation” correspond to Directive 2003/122. 

6.4. 

Application for shipment authorisation (Article 4) 

In  Article  4 (1)  the  expression  “intends  to  carry  out  a  shipment”  is  replaced  by  a  less 
ambiguous wording (“has planned to carry out a shipment”). This new expression will avoid 
in  practice  difficulties  deriving  from  considerations  as  for  the  “intentional”  character  of  a 
shipment (see point 3.5 SLIM Report), while ensuring the timeliness of applications (so that 
they are not lodged too far in advance). 

Article 4 (2) corresponds to Article 5 (1) of Directive 92/3. 

6.5. 

Transmission of the application to the competent authorities (Article 5) 

Article 5 (1) corresponds to Article 4 (1), paragraph 1, second sentence of Directive 92/3. 

6.6. 

Consent and refusal (Article 6) 

Terminology has been harmonised, and the word consent is used for Member States of transit 
and  destination,  so  that  it  can  be  distinguished  from  “authorisation”,  to  be  granted  by  the 
Member State of origin. 

Contrary to the provision in Article 6 (4) of Directive 92/3, the automatic consent procedure is 
no longer optional, but shall apply to any shipment. A country of transit or of destination that 
does  not  give  any  reply  as  regards  an  intended  shipment  is  deemed  to  have  approved  such 
shipment.  Now,  acknowledgement  of  receipt  is  requested  within  one  month,  and  the  period 
for notifying acceptance/refusal is extended to 4 months (3 months reply + 1 month extension 
on  request).  Both  the  acknowledgement  of  receipt  and  the  generalisation  of  the  automatic 
consent procedure were welcomed by the EESC. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
For  sake  of  clarity,  and  as  recommended  by  the  EESC,  the  reasons  that  justify  a  refusal  to 
give consent or for conditions attached to the consent are clearly defined and different for the 
Member  State  of  destination  and  for  Member  States  of  transit,  so  that  the  latter  can  only 
invoke the relevant national, Community or international legislation applicable to transport of 
radioactive  material.  Lack  of  a  common  policy  in  the  nuclear  field,  this  differentiating  is 
necessary  in  order  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  those  countries  which  have  opted  for 
reprocessing.  This  is  further  consistent  with  the  recommendation  made  by  the  EESC  in 
connection with the possible obstacles to the nuclear common market. 

Article 6 (4) corresponds to the provision of Article 16 of Directive 92/3, its wording having 
been  adapted  to  the  structure  of  the  present  proposal.  It  is  now  clear  that  the  consent 
procedure also applies to reshipments in cases where the initial shipment fails for the reasons 
detailed in Article 9 (see point 3.12 of the SLIM Report).  

6.7. 

Authorisation of shipments (Article 7) 

It is logical to address the stage of authorisation in a separate Article and after the provisions 
on acceptance. 

Article 7 (3) reflects the idea that was already implicit in Article 5 (1) of Directive 92/3. 

Article  7 (4)  corresponds  to  Article  5 (2)  of  Directive  92/3.  The  3  year-validity-period  is  a 
maximum limit. It is for the authorising authorities to determine, on a case by case basis, the 
appropriate time validity of the authorisation. 

6.8. 

Acknowledgement of receipt of the shipment (Article 8) 

This provision corresponds to Article 9 of Directive 92/3. 

6.9. 

Shipment failure (Article 9) 

This  provision  corresponds  to  Article  15  of  Directive  92/3,  but  following  points  have  been 
clarified: (a) the right of the Member State of origin, transit or destination to abort a shipment, 
in the conditions laid down in the same provision and (b) the obligation of the Member State 
of origin in connection with take-back responsibility of the holder. In line with Article 27 of 
the  Joint  Convention,  the  possibility  to  make  an  alternative  safe  arrangement  is  given,  for 
such cases where the taking-back is not justified from the radiological point of view. 

The liability of the holder for any additional cost – repackaging, transport e.g. – is justified, 
because the holder is the primary responsible for the respect of the conditions for which the 
shipment was authorised and consented. 

6.10. 

Special rules for imports into the Community (Article 10) 

Article  10  of  Directive  92/3  has  been  developed  and  identifies  the  different  steps  of  the 
procedure. 

6.11. 

Special rules for transit through the Community (Article 11) 

It  elaborates  on  Article  10(2)  of  Directive  92/3  and  identifies  the  different  steps  of  the 
procedure. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
6.12. 

Special rules for exports out of the Community (Article 12) 

It elaborates on Article 12 of Directive 92/3 and identifies the different steps of the procedure. 
The consent of the  State  of  destination is required, as resulting from Article 27  of  the Joint 
Convention. 

6.13. 

Prohibited exports (Article 13) 

It corresponds to Article 11 of Directive 92/3. It has been amended to take into account that 
the Fourth Lomé ACP-EEC Convention has now been replaced by the Partnership Agreement 
between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) of the one 
part,  and  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  other  part,  signed  in 
Cotonou on 23 June 20003, which entered into force on 1 April 2003. 

6.14.  Use of a standard document (Article 14) 

Article  14(2)  has  been  adapted  from  Article  20  of  Directive  92/3.  It  lays  down  a  general 
obligation  for  the  use  of  the  standard  document,  so  that  individual  references  to  this  in  the 
relevant provisions of the Directives are now redundant. The obligation to establish the new 
standard  document  by  the  date  of  transposition  is  laid  down  for  the  sake  of  clarity.  Article 
14(3) clarifies the use of languages, in order to avoid uncertainties. The need for clear rules on 
the use of languages is especially relevant in a Community of 25 Member States. 

This question will subsequently be addressed when establishing the new standard document 
using  the  advisory  committee  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  18,  possibly  by  including  the 
different  items/headings  in  all  EU  languages,  or  by  allowing  for  the  use  of  bilingual  or 
multilingual  official  versions  combining  the  language  of  the  country  of  origin  with  one  or 
more other EU languages, according to the needs.  

6.15.  Competent authorities (Article 15) 

It  corresponds  to  Article  17  of  Directive  92/3,  but  the  reference  to  the  automatic  consent 
procedure has been deleted as a consequence of Article 6 (4). 

6.16.  Cooperation (Article 16) 

Providing for a solution for small producers of radioactive waste is the necessary corollary of 
recognising the right to prohibit the import of radioactive waste for final disposal. 

Further  to  the  considerations  in  Article  14,  a  specific  duty  of  co-operation  needs  to  be 
enounced  in  order  to  avoid  situations  where  the  authorisation  /  consent  procedure  might  be 
misused for dilatory purposes and constitute an unjustified obstacle e.g. to the free movement 
of spent fuel within the Community. The appropriate Community control mechanisms apply, 
including,  as  the  case  might  be,  the  opening  of  infringement  procedures  under  Article  141 
Euratom. 

The  recommendations  meant  in  Article  16(3)  are  intended  to  develop  a  safe  system  of 
exchange of information in order to facilitate the respect of the procedure laid down  in  this 
Directive, while avoiding delays. 

3 

2000/483/EC, OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
                                                 
6.17.  Regular reports (Article 17) 

In  view  of  the  experience  of  Directive  92/3,  reports  are  only  expected  every  three  years.  A 
reference  is  made  to  the  procedure  to  be  followed  (this  Proposal  does  not  contain  any 
provision similar to Article 20 of Directive 92/3, but integrates such a reference in Articles 3, 
12, 13 and 15). 

6.18.  Advisory committee (Article 18) 

It corresponds to Article 19 of Directive 92/3. 

6.19.  Transposition (Article 19) 

When transposing this Directive, Member States should pay special attention to those aspects 
that are new, and in particular: 

Article 1, as far as it defines the extended scope of the Directive, which is now also applicable 
to shipments of spent fuel meant for reprocessing and shipments from one point to another of 
the same Member State but transiting through another country; and it makes reference to the 
quantities and concentration levels laid down in Directive 96/29. 

Article 2, extended provision on reshipments for processing and reprocessing purposes.  

Article 6, concerning the modified consent procedure. 

Article 9, paragraph 1, on shipment failure, and  the equivalent provisions in Articles 10, 11 
and 12. 

Article  12,  on  exports  out  of  the  Community,  which  now  requires  the  consent  of  the 
competent authorities of the country of destination. 

Article 13, including a new reference to the Cotonou ACP-EC Agreement. 

Article 14, on the use of the standard document, and in particular paragraph 3, on the use of 
languages. 

6.20. 

Final provisions (Articles 20, 22 and 23) 

Standard texts. 

6.21.  Transitional provisions (Article 21) 

For reasons of legal certainty, the special requirements introduced by this Directive will not 
be applicable where the application for authorisation had been duly submitted before the date 
of transposition. 

For  those  applications  submitted  during  the  transitional  period,  Member  States  should, 
however,  refuse  to  grant  authorisation  for  several  shipments  where  there  is  no  objective 
reason for regrouping them in a single application and there is a suspicion that the operator is 
seeking to avoid the application of the relevant provisions of this Directive, and in particular 
the need to obtain the consent of the third country of destination.  

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
2005/0272 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and nuclear spent fuel 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in 
particular Articles 31 (2) and 32 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission4 drawn up after obtaining the opinion of 
a  group  of  persons  appointed  by  the  Scientific  and  Technical  Committee  from  among 
scientific experts in the Member States, in accordance with Article 31 of the Treaty, and after 
having consulted the European Economic and Social Committee5, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament6, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Operations  involved  in  shipments  of  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  are  subject  to  a 
number  of  requirements  under  Community  and  international  legal  instruments 
regarding  in  particular  the  safe  transport  of  radioactive  material  and  the  conditions 
under which radioactive waste or spent fuel is disposed of or stored in the country of 
destination. 

Further to these requirements, the health protection of workers and the general public 
requires that shipments of radioactive waste or spent fuel between Member States and 
into  and  out  of  the  Community  be  subject  to  a  compulsory  and  common  system  of 
prior authorisation. 

Council Directive 92/3/Euratom of 3 February 1992 on the supervision and control of 
shipments  of  radioactive  waste  between  Member  States  and  into  and  out  of  the 
Community7 established a Community system of strict control and prior authorisation 
for shipments of radioactive waste that has proved satisfactory. It needs, nevertheless, 
to  be  amended  in  the  light  of  experience  in  order  to  clarify  and  add  concepts  and 
definitions,  to  address  situations  that  had  been  omitted  in  the  past,  to  simplify  the 
existing procedure for the shipment of radioactive waste between Member States and to 
guarantee  consistency  with  other  Community  and  international  provisions,  and  in 

4 
5 
6 
7 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 35, 12.2.1992, p. 24. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

particular  with  the  Joint  Convention  for  the  safe  management  of  spent  fuel  and 
radioactive waste, to which the Community acceded on 2 January 2006). 

In  the  framework  of  the  Fifth  Phase  of  the  SLIM  (Simpler  Legislation  for  Internal 
Market) initiative, a working group of representatives of Member States and of users 
was set up in order to address a number of concerns expressed by users of Directive 
92/3/Euratom,  while  bringing  it  into  line  with  current  international  rules  and 
instruments. 

The  procedure  laid  down  in  Directive  92/3  has  been  applied  in  practice  only  to 
shipments of spent fuel for which no use is intended, considered thus as “radioactive 
waste” for the purposes of the Directive. From a radiological point of view, excluding 
from  such  supervision  and  control  procedure  spent  fuel  where  it  is  intended  for 
reprocessing  is  not  justified.  It  is  therefore  appropriate  to  extend  the  scope  of  this 
Directive  to  all  shipments  of  spent  fuel,  whether  it  is  intended  for  disposal  or  for 
reprocessing. 

Lack  of  a  Community  common  fuel  cycle  policy,  each  Member  State  remains 
responsible for the choice of its own policy on the management of the nuclear waste 
and  spent  fuel  that  are  under  its  jurisdiction;  the  provisions  of  this  Directive  should 
therefore be without prejudice to the right of Member States to export their spent fuel 
for reprocessing and to their right to refuse the entry into their territory of radioactive 
waste for final treatment or disposal, except in the case of reshipment. 

The  adoption  of  Council  Directive  2003/122/Euratom  of  22  December  2003,  on  the 
control  of  high-activity  sealed  radioactive  sources  and  orphan  sources8,  makes  it 
necessary to adapt the wording of the provisions on reshipment of radioactive sealed 
sources.  

Simplification  of  the  existing  procedure  should  not  hamper  the  existing  rights  of  the 
Member States to object to or set conditions to a shipment of radioactive waste which 
require  their  approval.  Objections  should  not  be  arbitrary  and  should  be  founded  on 
relevant  national  or  international  provisions  that  can  be  easily  identified.  Relevant 
legislation  is  not  limited  to  sectoral  transport  legislation.  This  Directive  should  be 
without  prejudice  to  the  rights  and  obligations  of  Member  States  under  international 
law, and in particular to the exercise, by ships and aircraft of maritime, river and air 
navigation rights and freedoms, as provided for in international law. 

The possibility for a Member State of destination or of transit to refuse the automatic 
procedure  for  granting  consent  to  shipments  imposes  an  unjustified  administrative 
burden and generates uncertainty. The mandatory acknowledgement of receipt of the 
application by the authorities of the countries of destination and transit, together with 
the  extension  of  the  period  for  granting  consent,  should  allow  tacit  approval  to  be 
assumed with a high degree of certainty.  

(10)  To  protect  human  health  and  the  environment  against  the  dangers  arising  from 
radioactive waste, account must be taken of risks occurring outside the Community. In 
the case of radioactive waste and spent fuel leaving the Community, the third country 

8 

OJ L 346 , 31.12.2003, p. 57 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
of  destination  should  not  only  be  informed  of  the  shipment,  but  should  also  give  its 
consent on it. 

(11)  For the needs of the provisions of this Directive and in the light of the past experience 
it is appropriate to provide for the adaptation of the existing standard document. For 
the sake of clarity the obligation to establish the new standard document by the date of 
transposition of this Directive should be laid down. However, should this deadline not 
be  met,  transitional  provisions  should  provide  for  the  use  of  the  existing  one. 
Moreover,  clear  rules  on  the  use  of  languages  should  allow  for  legal  certainty  and 
prevent unjustified delays. 

(12)  Periodical  reporting  from  Member  States  to  the  Commission  and  from  this  to  the 
European  Parliament,  to  the  Council  and  to  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee should provide a useful overview of authorisations given Community wide 
and identifies possible difficulties encountered in practice by the Member States, and 
solutions applied. 

(13)  Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards 
for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers 
arising from ionising radiation9, applies inter alia to the transport, import to and export 
from  the  Community  of  radioactive  substances  and  provides  for  a  reporting  and 
authorization  system  of  practices  involving  ionizing  radiation.  Those  provisions  are 
therefore relevant to the field covered by this Directive. 

(14) 

In the light of the foregoing, it is necessary, for reasons of clarity, to repeal and replace 
Directive  92/3/Euratom.This  Directive  must  not  prejudice  the  obligations  of  the 
Member  States  concerning  the  deadlines  for  transposition  into  national  law  and 
application of the repealed Directive, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Chapter 1 
Preliminary provisions 

Article 1 
Subject matter and scope 

1. 

2. 

This  Directive  lays  down  a  Community  system  of  supervision  and  control  of 
transboundary  shipments  of  radioactive  waste  and  spent  fuel,  so  as  to  guarantee  an 
adequate protection of the population. 

This Directive shall apply to transboundary shipments of radioactive waste or spent 
fuel whenever : 

(a) 

the country of origin or the country of destination or any country of transit is 
within the Community, and 

9 

OJ L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(b) 

the  quantities  and  concentration  of  the  consignment  exceed  the  levels  laid 
down  in  paragraph  2,  points  (a)  and  (b)  of  Article  3  of  Council  Directive 
96/29/Euratom as it may be amended or replaced. 

3. 

This  Directive  shall  not  apply  to  shipments  of  disused  sources  to  a  supplier  or 
manufacturer of radioactive sources or to a recognised installation. 

Article 2 
Reshipments related to processing and reprocessing operations 

This Directive shall not affect the right of a Member State or an undertaking in the Member 
State to which radioactive waste is to be shipped for processing to return the radioactive waste 
and  other  products  of  the  processing  operation  after  treatment  to  its  country  of  origin.  Nor 
shall it affect the right of a Member State or an undertaking in that Member State to which 
spent fuel is to be shipped for reprocessing to return to its country of origin radioactive waste 
and other products of the reprocessing operation. 

For the purpose of this Directive the following definitions shall apply: 

Article 3 
Definitions 

(1)  ‘radioactive  waste’  means  radioactive  material  in  gaseous,  liquid  or  solid  form 
for which no further use is foreseen by the countries of origin and destination, or by a 
natural or legal person whose decision is accepted by these countries, and/or which is 
controlled  as  radioactive  waste  by  a  regulatory  body  under  the  legislative  and 
regulatory framework of the countries of origin, transit and destination; 

(2)  ‘spent  fuel’  means  nuclear  fuel  that  has  been  irradiated  in  and  permanently 
removed from a reactor core; 

(3) ‘shipment’ means the whole of operations involved in moving radioactive waste 
or  spent  fuel  from  the  country  or  the  Member  State  of  origin  to  the  country  or  the 
Member State of destination; 

(4) “intra-community shipment” means a shipment carried out where the country of 
origin and the country of destination are Member States; 

(5) “extra-community shipment” means a shipment carried out where the country of 
origin and/or the country of destination are third countries; 

(6)  ‘disposal’  means  the  emplacement  of  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  in  an 
authorised facility without the intention of retrieval; 

(7)  ‘storage’  means  the  holding  of  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  in  a  facility  that 
provides for its containment, with the intention of retrieval; 

(8) ‘holder’ means any natural or legal person who, before carrying out a shipment of 
radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel,  has  the  legal  responsibility  for  such  materials  and 
plans to carry out a shipment to a consignee; 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(9) ‘consignee’ means any natural or legal person to whom radioactive waste or spent 
fuel is shipped; 

(10)  ‘country  or  Member  State  of  origin’  and  ‘country  or  Member  State  of 
destination’ respectively mean any country or Member State from which a shipment 
is planned to be initiated or is initiated, and any country or Member State to which a 
shipment is planned or takes place; 

(11) ‘country or Member State of transit’ means any country or Member State other 
than the country or the Member State of origin or the country or the Member State of 
destination, through which territory a shipment is planned or takes place; 

(12)  ‘territory’  means  a  State’s  land  territory,  airspace  and  territorial  waters,  with 
exclusion of its exclusive economic zone. 

(13) ‘competent authorities’ means any authority which, under the law or regulations 
of  the  countries  of  origin,  transit  or  destination,  are  empowered  to  implement  the 
system of supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste or spent fuel; 

(14)  ‘sealed  source’  means  a  source  whose  structure  is  such  as  to  prevent,  under 
normal  conditions  of  use,  any  dispersion  of  the  radioactive  substances  into  the 
environment; 

(15) ‘disused source’ means a sealed source which is no longer used or intended to 
be used for the practice for which authorisation was granted; 

(16)  ‘recognised  installation’  means  a  facility  located  in  the  territory  of  a  country 
authorised by the competent authorities of that country in accordance  with  national 
law  for  the  long-term  storage  or  disposal  of  sealed  sources  or  an  installation  duly 
authorised under national law for the interim storage of sealed sources. 

Chapter 2 
Intra-Community Shipments 

Article 4 
Application for shipment authorisation 

1. 

A holder who has planned to carry out an intra-Community shipment of radioactive 
waste or spent fuel or to arrange for such a shipment to be carried out shall submit an 
application  for  authorisation  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  of 
origin. 

2. 

The application may be sent in respect of more than one shipment, provided that: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  radioactive  waste  or  the  spent  fuel  to  which  it  relates  essentially  has  the 
same physical, chemical and radioactive characteristics,  

the shipments are to be made from the same holder to the same consignee and 
involve the same competent authorities, and 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(c)  where shipments involve transit through third countries, such transit is via the 
same frontier post of entry to and/or exit from the Community and via the same 
frontier  post  of  the  third  country  or  countries  concerned,  unless  otherwise 
agreed between the competent authorities concerned. 

Article 5 
Transmission of the application to the competent authorities 

The competent authorities of the Member State of origin shall send the applications referred 
to in Article 4 for consent to the competent authorities of the Member State of destination and 
of the Member States of transit, if any.  

Article 6 
 Consent and refusal  

1. 

Not later than one month from the date of receipt of the duly completed application 
by the competent authorities of the Member State of destination and of any Member 
State of transit, they shall issue an acknowledgement of receipt. 

Not  later  than  three  months  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  the  duly  completed 
application the competent authorities of the Member State of destination and of any 
Member State of transit shall notify the competent authorities of the country of origin 
of their consent or of the conditions which they consider necessary or of their refusal 
to grant consent. 

However,  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  destination  or  of  any 
Member State of transit may request a further period of not more than one month in 
addition to the period referred to in the second subparagraph to make their position 
known. 

2. 

If  upon  expiry  of  the  periods  referred  to  in  the  second  and  third  subparagraphs  of 
paragraph  1  no  reply  has  been  received  from  the  competent  authorities  of  the 
Member  State  of  destination  and/or  the  intended  Member  States  of  transit,  those 
countries  shall  be  deemed  to  have  given  their  consent  for  the  shipment  requested 
provided  that  the  acknowledgement  of  receipt  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  has  been 
received from those countries.  

3. 

Reasons  shall  be  given  by  Member  States  for  any  refusal  to  grant  consent,  or  for 
conditions attached to consent, which shall be based: 

a) 

b) 

for  Member  States  of  transit,  on  the  relevant  national,  Community  or 
international legislation applicable to transport of radioactive material; 

for  the  Member  State  of  destination,  on  relevant  legislation  applicable  to  the 
management  of  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  and  on  relevant  national, 
Community  or  international  legislation  applicable  to  transport  of  radioactive 
material.  

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
 
 
Any conditions required by the competent authorities of the Member States, whether 
they are the country of transit or of destination, may not be more stringent than those 
laid down for similar shipments within those Member States. 

4. 

The Member State or States which gave consent to transit for a given shipment may 
not refuse to give consent to reshipment in the following cases: 

(a)  When  the  initial  consent  concerned  material  being  shipped  for  treatment  or 
reprocessing  purposes,  if  the  reshipment  concerns  radioactive  waste  or  other 
products equivalent to the original material after treatment or reprocessing, and 
all relevant legislation is respected, 

(b)  under the circumstances described in Article 9, if the reshipment is undertaken 

on the same conditions and with the same specifications. 

Article 7 
Authorisation of shipments 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

If  all  the  consents  necessary  for  shipment  have  been  granted,  the  competent 
authorities of the Member State of origin shall be entitled to authorise the holder to 
carry  out  the  shipment  and  shall  inform  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
State of destination and of any Member State or third country of transit accordingly. 

The  authorisation  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  not  in  any  way  affect  the 
responsibility  of  the  holder,  the  transporter,  the  owner,  the  consignee  or  any  other 
natural or legal person involved in the shipment. 

A  single  authorisation  may  cover  more  than  one  shipment,  where  the  conditions 
referred to in Article 4 (2) are met. 

Any authorisation shall be valid for a period of not more than three years.  

When establishing this period of validity, Member States shall take into account any 
conditions set out in the consent by the Member States of destination or of transit.  

Article 8 
Acknowledgement of receipt of the shipment 

Within 15 days of receipt, the consignee shall send  the  competent  authorities  of its 
Member State an acknowledgement of receipt of each shipment. 

The competent authorities of the Member State of destination shall send copies of the 
acknowledgement  to  the  Member  State  of  origin  and  any  Member  State  or  third 
country of transit. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  origin  shall  send  a  copy  of  the 
acknowledgement to the original holder. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
 
 
Article 9 
Shipment failure 

1. 

2. 

The Member State of destination, origin or transit may decide that the shipment may 
not  be  completed  if  the  conditions  for  shipment  are  no  longer  complied  with  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Directive,  or  are  not  in  accordance  with  the 
authorisations or consents issued pursuant to this Directive.  

Such Member State shall forthwith inform of this decision the competent authorities 
of the other Member States involved in the shipment.  

Where  a  shipment  cannot  be  completed  or  if  the  conditions  for  shipment  are  not 
complied  with  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Directive,  the  competent 
authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  origin shall  ensure  that  the  radioactive  waste  or 
the  spent  fuel  in  question  is  taken  back  by  the  holder,  unless  an  alternative  safe 
arrangement  can  be  made.  They  shall  ensure  that  the  person  responsible  for  the 
shipment takes corrective safety measures where necessary. 

3. 

The holder shall be liable for costs arising in cases where the shipment cannot or may 
not be completed.  

Chapter 3 
 Extra-Community shipments 

Article 10 
Imports into the Community 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Where radioactive waste or spent fuel falling within the scope of this Directive is to 
enter  the  Community  from  a  third  country  and  the  country  of  destination  is  a 
Member  State,  the  consignee  shall  submit  an  application  for  authorisation  to  the 
competent authorities of that Member State. The application may be sent in respect 
of more than one shipment, under the conditions referred to in Article 4 (2).  

It shall include evidence that the consignee has concluded an arrangement with the 
holder established in the third country, and accepted by the competent authorities of 
that third country, obliging that holder to take back the radioactive waste or the spent 
fuel  where  a  shipment  cannot  be  completed  in  accordance  with  this  Directive,  as 
provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article.  

The consignee shall be liable for costs arising in cases where the shipment cannot or 
may not be completed. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  destination  shall  send  the 
application referred to in paragraph 1 for consent to the competent authorities of the 
Member States of transit, if any.  

Article 6 shall apply. 

If  all  the  consents  necessary  for  the  shipment  have  been  granted,  the  competent 
authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  destination  shall  be  entitled  to  authorise  the 

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

consignee to carry out the shipment and shall inform the competent authorities of any 
Member State or third country of transit accordingly.  

Paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 7 shall apply. 

Within  15  days  of  receipt  of  the  shipment,  the  consignee  shall  send  the  competent 
authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  destination  an  acknowledgement  of  receipt  of 
each  shipment.  The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  destination  shall 
send  copies  of  the  acknowledgement  to  the  country  of  origin  and  to  any  Member 
State or third country of transit. 

The Member State of destination or any Member State of transit may decide that the 
shipment  may  not  be  completed  if  the  conditions  for  shipment  are  no  longer 
complied  with  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Directive,  or  are  not  in 
accordance  with  the  authorisations  or  consents  issued  pursuant  to  this  Directive. 
Such  Member State shall forthwith inform the competent authorities of the country 
of  origin  of  this  decision.  The  consignee  will  be  liable  for  costs  arising  in  cases 
where the shipment cannot or may not be completed. 

Article 11  
Transit through the Community 

Where radioactive waste or spent fuel is to enter the Community from a third country 
and  the  country  of  destination  is  not  a  Member  State,  the  person  who  has  the 
responsibility  for  managing  the  shipment  within  the  Member  State  through  whose 
customs  post  the  radioactive  waste  is  first  to  enter  the  Community  (“first  Member 
State  of  transit”)  shall  submit  an  application  for  authorisation  to  the  competent 
authorities of that Member State. The application may be sent in respect of more than 
one shipment, under the conditions referred to in Article 4(2).  

It  shall  include  evidence  that  the  consignee  established  in  the  third  country  has 
concluded  an  arrangement  with  the  holder  established  in  the  third  country,  and 
accepted by the competent authorities of the latter, obliging that holder to take back 
the  radioactive  waste  or  the  spent  fuel  where  a  shipment  cannot  be  completed  in 
accordance with this Directive, as provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article.  

The  competent  authorities  of  the  first  Member  State  of  transit  shall  send  the 
application  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  for  consent  to  the  competent  authorities  of 
other Member States of transit, if any.  

Article 6 shall apply. 

If  all  the  consents  necessary  for  shipment  have  been  granted,  the  competent 
authorities  of  the  first  Member  State  of  transit  shall  be  entitled  to  authorise  the 
responsible  person  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  to  carry  out  the  shipment  and  shall 
inform  the  competent  authorities  of  any  other  Member  State  or  third  country  of 
transit accordingly. 

Paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 7 shall apply. 

EN 

18 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
4. 

5. 

1. 

The  responsible  person  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  notify  the  competent 
authorities of the first Member State of transit that the radioactive waste or spent fuel 
has reached its destination in the third country within 15 days of the date of arrival 
and  shall  indicate  the  last  customs  post  in  the  Community  through  which  the 
shipment passed.  

The  notification  shall  be  substantiated  by  a  declaration  or  certification  of  the 
consignee  stating  that  the  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  has  reached  its  proper 
destination and indicating the customs post of entry in the third country. 

A Member State of transit may decide that the shipment may not be completed if the 
conditions  for  shipment  are  no  longer  complied  with  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  Directive,  or  are  not  in  accordance  with  the  authorisations  or 
consents issued pursuant to this Directive. Such Member State shall forthwith inform 
the  competent  authorities  of  the  country  of  origin  of  this  decision.  The  responsible 
person referred to in paragraph 1 shall be liable for costs arising in cases where the 
shipment cannot or may not be completed. 

Article 12 
Exports out of the Community 

Where  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  is  to  be  exported  from  the  Community  to  a 
third  country,  the  holder  shall  submit  an  application  for  authorisation  to  the 
competent authorities of the Member State of origin. The application may be sent in 
respect of more than one shipment, under the conditions referred to in Article 4 (2).  

2. 

The competent authorities of the Member State of origin shall:  

3. 

4. 

(a) 

(b) 

notify the authorities of the country of destination and ask their consent, prior 
to such a shipment; 

send  the  application  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  for  consent  to  the  competent 
authorities of the Member States of transit, if any; Article 6 shall apply. 

If  all  the  consents  necessary  for  shipment  have  been  granted,  the  competent 
authorities of the Member State of origin shall be entitled to authorise the holder to 
carry out the shipment and shall inform the competent authorities of the third country 
of destination and of any Member State or third country of transit accordingly.  

Paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 7 shall apply. 

The holder shall notify the competent authorities of the Member State of origin that 
the  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  has  reached  its  destination  in  the  third  country 
within  15  days  of  the  date  of  arrival  and shall  indicate  the  last  customs  post  in  the 
Community through which the shipment passed.  

The  notification  shall  be  substantiated  by  a  declaration  or  certification  of  the 
consignee  stating  that  the  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  has  reached  its  proper 
destination and indicating the customs post of entry in the third country. 

EN 

19 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
5. 

The  Member  State  of  origin  or  any  Member  State  of  transit  may  decide  that  the 
shipment  may  not  be  completed  if  the  conditions  for  shipment  are  no  longer 
complied  with  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Directive,  or  are  not  in 
accordance  with  the  authorisations  or  consents  issued  pursuant  to  this  Directive. 
Such Member State of transit shall forthwith inform the competent authorities of the 
Member State of origin of this decision. Article 9, paragraph 2, applies. The holder 
will  be  liable  for  costs  arising  in  cases  where  the  shipment  cannot  or  may  not  be 
completed. 

Article 13 
Prohibited exports 

1. 

The competent authorities of Member States shall not authorise shipments: 

(a) 

to a destination south of latitude 60° south, or 

(b) 

(c) 

to  a  State  party  to  the  Partnership  Agreement  between  the  members  of  the 
African,  Caribbean  and  Pacific  Group  of  States  of  the  one  part,  and  the 
European Community and its Member States, of the other part, (Cotonou ACP-
EC Agreement) which is not a Member State without prejudice to Article 2, or 

to a third country which does not, in the opinion of the competent authorities of 
the  Member  State  of  origin,  in  accordance  with  the  criteria  referred  to  in 
paragraph  2,  have  the  administrative  and  technical  capacity  and  regulatory 
structure  to  manage  the  radioactive  waste  or  spent  fuel  safely.  In  so  doing 
Member  States  should  take  duly  into  account  any  relevant  information  from 
other Member States in this respect. 

2. 

The  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  18, 
establish  criteria  facilitating  Member  States  to  evaluate  whether  requirements  for 
exports are met. 

Chapter 4 
General provisions 

Article 14 
Use of a standard document 

1. 

2. 

3. 

A  standard  document  shall  be  used  for  all  shipments  within  the  scope  of  this 
Directive.  

The  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  18, 
establish the standard document which shall be published in the Official Journal of 
the European Union not later than (same date as Article 19(1)-transposition date). If 
necessary, it shall be updated following the same procedure. 

The application for authorisation shall be completed and any further documentation 
and  information  referred  to  in  Articles  7,  10,  11  and  12  shall  be  supplied  in  a 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
language that is acceptable to the competent authority of the Member State to whom 
the application for authorisation is submitted in accordance with this Directive. 

An  authenticated  translation  shall  be  supplied  by  the  holder  at  the  request  of  the 
competent authorities of the country of destination or transit in a language acceptable 
to them. 

Any  additional  requirements  for  authorising  a  shipment  shall  be  attached  to  the 
standard document. 

Without  prejudice  to  any  other  accompanying  documents  required  under  other 
relevant  legal  provisions,  the  completed  standard  document  certifying  that  the 
authorisation procedure has been duly complied with shall accompany each shipment 
falling under the scope of this Directive, including in cases where the authorisation 
relates to more than one shipment in a single document. 

These  documents  shall  be  available  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  country  of 
origin and destination and any country of transit. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Article 15 
Competent authorities 

Member States  shall forward to the Commission not later than (same date as  Article 19(1)) 
the name(s) and the address(es) of the competent authorities and all necessary information for 
rapidly communicating with such authorities. 

Member States shall regularly forward to the Commission any changes to such data. 

The  Commission  shall  communicate  this  information,  and  any  changes  thereto,  to  all  the 
competent authorities in the Community. 

Article 16 
Co-operation 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Member States shall promote agreements in order to facilitate the safe management, 
including  the  final  disposal,  of  radioactive  waste  from  countries  that  produce  it  in 
small  quantities  and  where  the  establishment  of  appropriate  facilities  would  not  be 
justified from the radiological point of view.  

Each  Member  State  shall  ensure  that  its  competent  authorities  cooperate  and 
communicate with the competent authorities of other relevant Member States or third 
countries so that to avoid undue delays in the procedures laid down by this Directive. 

The  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  18, 
establish recommendations for the secure and effective system of transmission of the 
documents and information relating to the provisions of this Directive. 

Any  unjustified  delays  and/or  lack  of  cooperation  by  the  competent  authorities  of 
another Member State shall immediately be reported to the Commission. 

EN 

21 

   EN 

 
 
Article 17 
Regular reports 

By (three years after the date referred to in Article 19(1)) and every three years afterwards, 
Member  States  shall  forward  to  the  Commission  reports  on  the  implementation  of  this 
Directive. 

They shall supplement these reports by information on the situation with regard to shipments 
within their respective territories. 

On  the  basis  of  these  reports,  the  Commission  shall,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid 
down in Article 18, establish a summary report for the European Parliament, the Council and 
the European Economic and Social Committee. 

Article 18 
Advisory committee 

In performing the tasks laid down in Articles 13(2), 14(2), 16(3) and in the third paragraph of 
Article 17 the Commission shall be assisted by a Committee of an advisory nature composed 
of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission. 

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures 
to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the 
Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote. 

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes. Each Member State shall have the right to ask to 
have its position recorded in the minutes. 

The Commission shall take account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform 
the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account. 

Article 19 
Transposition 

1. 

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before (two years after the date of 
entry into force). They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. 

When  Member  States  adopt  these  measures,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to  this 
Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official 
publication.  The  methods  of  making  such  reference  shall  be  laid  down  by  Member 
States. 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
2. 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive together with 
a  table  showing  how  the  provisions  of  this  Directive  correspond  to  the  national 
provision adopted. 

Article 20 
Repeal 

Directive  92/3/Euratom  is  hereby  repealed  with  effect  from  (same  date  as  the  date  set  in 
Article 19(1)), without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time 
limit for transposition into national law and application of that Directive. 

References  to  the  repealed  Directive  shall  be  construed  as  references  to  this  Directive  and 
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in the Annex. 

Article 21 
Transitional provisions 

1. 

2. 

Where  the  application  for  authorisation  has  been  duly  approved  by  or  submitted  to 
the competent authorities of the country of origin before (same date as Article 19(1)) 
Directive  92/3/Euratom  shall  apply  to  all  shipment  operations  covered  by  the  same 
authorisation. 

When  deciding  on  applications  for  authorisation  submitted  before  (same  date  as 
Article 19(1)), for more than one shipment of radioactive waste to a third country of 
destination,  the  Member  State  of  origin  shall  take  account  of  all  relevant 
circumstances, and in particular: 

(a) 

the planned time schedule for carrying out all shipments covered by the same 
application; 

(b) 

the justification for including all shipments in the same application; 

(c) 

the appropriateness of granting authorisation for a number of shipments lower 
than that covered by the application.  

3. 

Until  the  standard  document  provided  for  in  Article  14  of  this  Directive  becomes 
available, 
standard  document  established  by  Commission  Decision 
93/552/Euratom10 shall be used mutatis mutandis for the purposes of this Directive. 

the 

10 

OJ L 268, 29.10.1993, p. 83. 

EN 

23 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Article 22 
Entry into force 

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 23 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX  

Correlation Table 

Directive 92/3/Euratom 

This Directive 

Nature of modification11 

Article 1 (1) 

Article 2 

Article 3 

Article 1(1) 

Article 1 (2) 

Article 3 

First recital 

Article 4 (1) first sentence 

Article 4 (1) 

Article 4 (1) second sentence  Article 5 (1) 

Article 14 (1) 

Article 5 (2) 

Article 4 (2) 

Article 7 (4) 

Article 
paragraph 

6 

(1) 

first 

New provision 

Amended 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

(1) 

second 

Amended 

(1) 

second 

Article 14 (1) 

Adapted 

(2) 

first 

(2) 

second 

Article 
subparagraph 

6 

Article 
6 
subparagraph 

6 
Article 
subparagraph 

Article 6 (2) 

Article 7 (1) 

(3) 

second 

Amended 

(3) 

first 

Amended 

(1) 

third 

Adapted 

Amended 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Article 7 (2), first sentence 

Article 14 (1) 

Article 4 (2) 

Article 4 (3) 

Article 5 (1) 

Article 5 (2) 

Article 
6 
subparagraph 

Article 
subparagraph 

6 

Article 
6 
subparagraph 

Article 
subparagraph 

6 

Article 6 (3) 

Article 6 (4) 

Article 7 (1) 

11 

"Adapted" indicates that the wording has been reformulated without changing the scope of the text of 
the repealed Directive. Changes to the scope of the provisions of the repealed Directive are denoted by 
the word "Amended". 

EN 

25 

   EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
Article 7 (2), second sentence  Article 14 (4) 

Adapted 

Article 7 (3) 

Article 8 (1) 

Article 8 (2) 

Article 9 (1), first part of the 
sentence 

Article  9  (1),  end  part  of  the 
sentence 

Article 7 (2) 

Article 14 (5) 

Article 14 (6) 

Article 8 (1) 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Article 14 (1) 

Adapted 

Article 9 (2) 

Article 10 (1) 

Article 10 (1), end of the first 
sentence 

Article 8 (2) 

Article 10 (1) 

Article 14 (1) 

Article 10 (2) 

Article 11 

Article  10  (3)  reference  to 
paragraph 1 

Article 10 (1) 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Article  10  (3)  reference  to 
paragraph 2 

Article 10 (2) 

Adapted 

Article 11 

Article 12 (1) 

Article 12 (2) 

Article 12 (3) 

Article 12 (4) 

Article 12 (5) 

Article 12 (6) 

Article 13 (1) 

Article 13 (2) 

Article 14 

Article 13 (1) 

Article 12 (2) 

Article 12 (3) 

Article (12 (3) 

Article 14 (1) 

Article 12 (4) 

Article 12 (4) 

Adapted 

Amended 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Article 1 (3) first sentence 

Amended 

Article 1 (3) second sentence 

Article 2 

Amended 

EN 

26 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Article 15 (1) 

Article 15 (2) 

Article 9 (2) 

Article 10 (1) 

Article 16, first indent 

Article 6 (4) (a) 

Article 16, second indent 

Article 6 (4) (b) 

Article 17 (1) 

Article 17 (2) 

Article 17 (3) 

Article 18 (1) 

Article 18 (2) 

Article 18 (3) 

Article 19 (1) 

Article 19 (2) 

Article 19 (3) 

Article 19 (4) 

Article 15 (1) 

Article 15 (2) 

Article 15 (3) 

Article 17 (1) 

Article 17 (2) 

Article 17 (3)  

Article 18 (1) 

Article 18 (2) 

Article 18 (3) 

Article 18 (4) 

Article 20, first indent 

Article 14 (2) 

Article 20, second indent 

Article 14 (2) 

Article 20, third indent 

Article 14 (2) 

Article 20, fourth indent 

Article 13 (2) 

Article 20, fifth indent 

Article 17 (3) 

Article 21 

Article 22 

Article 19 

Article 23 

Article 9 (1) 

Article 12 (1) 

Article 12 (5) 

Article 16 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

Adapted 

New provision 

New provision 

New provision 

New provision 

Article 14 (3) 

New provision 

EN 

27 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Article 20 

Article 21 

Article 22 

New provision 

New provision 

New provision 

EN 

28 

   EN