Proposal for a Council Decision authorising the Republic of Slovenia to ratify, in the interest of the European Community, the Protocol of 12 February 2004 amending the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third-Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy
Date: 2006-12-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European convention, Slovenia, civil liability, nuclear energy, ratification of an agreement

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.12.2006 
COM(2006) 793 final 

2006/0260 (AVC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

authorising the Republic of Slovenia to ratify, in the interest of the European 
Community, the Protocol of 12 February 2004 amending the Paris Convention of 
29 July 1960 on Third-Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

THE 2003 AND 2004 DECISIONS 

By  two  Decisions,  2003/882/EC  of  27 November  2003  and  2004/294/EC  of  8 March  2004, 
The  Council  authorised  the  Member  States  which  are  Contracting  Parties  to  the  Paris 
Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third-Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy to sign 
and  ratify,  in  the  interest  of  the  European  Community,  the  Protocol  amending  that 
Convention, or to accede to it. 

Those  Decisions  were  necessary  because  the  Protocol  contains  provisions  which  impact  on 
the  rules  laid  down  in  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 44/2001  of  22 December  2000  on 
jurisdiction  and  the  recognition  and  enforcement  of  judgments  in  civil  and  commercial 
matters.  The  Community  has  exclusive  competence  in  that  field;  the  Member  States  retain 
their competence in matters covered by the Protocol which do not affect Community law. 

The  Paris  Convention  and  its  amending  Protocol  are  not  open  to  regional  integration 
organisations  so  in  this  highly  exceptional  case  there  was  felt  to  be  justification  for  the 
Member States to ratify or accede to the Protocol in the interest of the Community. 

The two decisions were addressed to the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the 
Paris  Convention,  to  the  express  exclusion  of  Denmark,  Austria,  Ireland  and  Luxembourg. 
Denmark is in fact not bound by Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 nor subject to its application, in 
accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the 
Treaty  on  European  Union  and  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community.  In 
addition,  Austria,  Ireland  and  Luxembourg,  which  are  not  parties  to  the  Paris  Convention, 
have been expressly exempted from applying the decisions and will continue to be governed 
by  the  rules  in  Regulation  (EC)  No 44/2001  and  to  apply  them  in  the  field  covered  by  the 
Paris Convention and its amending Protocol. 

The Member States addressed by the above decisions signed the Protocol to that Convention 
in  the  interest  of  the  European  Community  on  12 February  2004.  Under  Article  2(1)  of 
Decision  2004/294/EC  they  are  to  take  the  steps  necessary  to  ratify  the  Protocol  before 
31 December 2006 if possible. 

2. 

THE SITUATION FOLLOWING ENLARGEMENT 

Article  53  of  the  Act  concerning  the  conditions  of  accession  of  the  Czech  Republic,  the 
Republic  of  Estonia,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  the  Republic  of  Latvia,  the  Republic  of 
Lithuania,  the  Republic  of  Hungary,  the  Republic  of  Malta,  the  Republic  of  Poland,  the 
Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic annexed to the Treaty of Accession signed on 
l6 April 2003 states that “upon accession, the new Member States shall be considered as being 
addressees of directives and decisions within the meaning of Article 249 of the EC Treaty and 
of Article 161 of the Euratom Treaty, provided that those directives and decisions have been 
addressed to all the present Member States.” 

Council Decisions 2003/882/EC and 2004/294/EC authorising the signature and ratification of 
the Protocol to the Paris Convention were not  addressed to “all the present Member States” 
within  the  meaning  of  Article  53  of  the  Act  of  Accession.  As  a  result,  the  States  which 

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acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004 are not bound by those Decisions, since they 
were not addressees within the meaning of Article 53 of the Act of Accession. 

Moreover,  the  Decisions  were  not  subject  to  technical  adaptations  before  accession  in 
accordance with Article 57 of that Act of Accession. 

Of  the  new  Member  States  only  Slovenia  is  a  Contracting  Party  to  the  Paris  Convention;  it 
signed the Protocol to the Convention on 12 February 2004. 

The  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Hungary,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Poland  and  Slovakia  are  not 
Contracting Parties to the Paris Convention but are Parties to the Vienna Convention on Civil 
Liability for Nuclear Damage of 21 May 1963 (the Vienna Convention). 

Cyprus and Malta are not parties to any international convention on third-party liability in the 
nuclear field. 

Bulgaria  and  Romania,  about  to  accede  to  the  Union,  are  also  parties  to  the  Vienna 
Convention. 

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISION 2004/294/EC 

The Member States addressed by Decision 2004/294/EC are being contacted with a view to 
the simultaneous ratification of the Protocol in accordance with Article 2(1) of that Decision. 

It is desirable and in the spirit of Decision 2004/294/EC that Slovenia join the other Member 
States concerned in ratifying the Protocol. However, to that end Slovenia must be authorised 
to  ratify  the  Protocol  in  the  interest  of  the  European  Community  just  as  the  Member  States 
referred to in that Decision are. 

4. 

THIS DECISION 

In the light of the above, the sole purpose of this Decision is to place Slovenia on an equal 
footing with the Member States addressed by Decision 2004/294/EC. 

As a result, this Decision is without prejudice to: 

–  the position of the other Member States which are Parties to the Vienna Convention; 

–  the position of the other Member States which are not Parties to any convention on third-

party liability in the nuclear field; 

–  the Commission’s right of initiative on third-party liability in the nuclear field based on the 

Euratom Treaty. 

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2006/0260 (AVC) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

authorising the Republic of Slovenia to ratify, in the interest of the European 
Community, the Protocol of 12 February 2004 amending the Paris Convention of 
29 July 1960 on Third-Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 
61(c)  and  67  in  conjunction  with  Article  300(2),  first  subparagraph,  and  (3),  second 
subparagraph, thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the favourable opinion of the European Parliament2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The 2004 Protocol amending the Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third-Party Liability 
in the Field of Nuclear Energy, as amended by the Additional Protocol of 28 January 
1964  and  by  the  Protocol  of  16 November  1982  (hereafter  called  the  ‘Paris 
Convention’),  contains  provisions  impacting  on  the  rules  laid  down  in  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition 
and  enforcement  of  judgments  in  civil  and  commercial  matters3,  in  which  the 
Community has exclusive competence. 

By Decision 2003/882/EC of 27 November 2003 the Member States Party to the Paris 
Convention were authorised to sign that Protocol in the interest of the Community. By 
Decision  2004/294/EC  of  8 March  2004  the  Council  also  authorised  those  States  to 
ratify  that  Protocol  in  the  interest  of  the  European  Community  or  to  accede  to  it. 
Article  2  of  that  Decision  stated  that  the  Member  States  were  to  take  the  necessary 
steps  to  deposit  simultaneously  their  instruments  of  ratification  of  the  Protocol,  or 
accession to it, before 31 December 2006 if possible. 

Decision  2004/294/EC  –  like  Decision  2003/882/EC  –  is  addressed  solely  to  those 
Member  States  which  were  part  of  the  Community  on  8 March  2004,  with  the 
exception  of  Austria,  Denmark,  Ireland  and  Luxembourg,  as  is  clear  from  the 
combined application of Articles 1(3) and 4 of the Decision. 

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OJ C , ., p. . 
OJ C , ., p. . 
OJ L 12, 16.1.2001, p. 1. 

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(4) 

(5) 

The Republic of Slovenia signed the Protocol on 12 February 2004. Since it acceded 
to  the  European  Union  on  1 May  2004,  it  was  not  an  addressee  of  Decision 
2004/294/EC;  Article  53  of  the  Act  concerning  the  conditions  of  accession  of  the 
Czech  Republic,  the  Republic  of  Estonia,  the  Republic  of  Cyprus,  the  Republic  of 
Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the 
Republic  of  Poland,  the  Republic  of  Slovenia  and  the  Slovak  Republic  was  not 
applicable in this case. 

In  accordance  with  Articles  1  and  2  of  the  Protocol  on  the  position  of  Denmark 
annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European 
Community, Denmark is not to participate in the adoption of this Decision and will not 
be bound by it nor subject to its application. 

(6) 

Ratification  by  Slovenia  of  the  Protocol  is  without  prejudice  to  the  position  of  the 
Member States of the Community which are not Parties to the Paris Convention, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Without  prejudice  to  the  competences  of  the  Community,  the  Republic  of  Slovenia  hereby 
ratifies,  in  the  interest  of  the  European  Community,  the  Protocol  amending  the  Paris 
Convention, the text of which is annexed to Decision 2003/882/EC. 

This  ratification  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  positions  of  those  Community  Member 
States which are not Parties to the Paris Convention. 

Slovenia shall take the necessary steps to deposit its instrument of ratification of the Protocol, 
if possible simultaneously with the other Member States addressed by Decision 2004/294/EC. 

Article 2 

Article 3 

On  ratification  of  the  Protocol,  Slovenia  shall  inform  the  Secretary-General  of  the 
Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development  in  writing  that  ratification  has 
taken place in accordance with this Decision. 

Article 4 

This  Decision  is  addressed  to  the  Republic  of  Slovenia  in  accordance  with  the  Treaty 
establishing the European Community. 

Done at Brussels,  

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For the Council 
The President 

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