2007/530/Euratom: Commission Decision of 17 July 2007 on establishing the European High Level Group on Nuclear Safety and Waste Management (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2007-07-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consultancy, nuclear safety, radioactive waste, research body, waste management

L 195/44

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Official Journal of the European Union

27.7.2007

COMMISSION DECISION

of 17 July 2007

on establishing the European High Level Group on Nuclear Safety and Waste Management

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/530/Euratom)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic
Energy Community, and in particular Article 135 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and
its Member States are committed to maintaining and
further improving the safety of nuclear installations and
the safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste,
as reflected in particular in existing Community legis-
lation adopted under
the
Euratom Treaty, as well as in the relevant resolutions
and conclusions of the European Council, the European
Parliament, the Council, and the European Economic and
Social Committee.

articles 31 and 32 of

The European Council of 8/9 March 2007 endorsed the
Commission proposal to set up an EU High Level Group
on Nuclear Safety and Waste Management, with the
mandate of progressively developing common under-
standing and, eventually, additional European rules in
these fields.

The work of the High Level Group should take into
account the conclusions of the 2798th meeting of the
Council of the European Union (Economic and Financial
Affairs) of 8 May 2007 which sets out a list of possible
actions, on the basis of the reports of the Working Party
on Nuclear Safety, and build on the existing cooperation
within current international contexts (such as Convention
on Nuclear Safety,
International
Atomic Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency,
Western European Nuclear Regulators Association).

Joint Convention,

The High Level Group should on a regular basis inform
the European Nuclear Energy Forum, which constitutes a
comprehensive discussion platform involving all relevant
stakeholders in the nuclear field. It should contribute to a
consistent application, in all Member States concerned, of
the relevant existing provisions.

(6)

The High Level Group should submit regular activity
reports,
including recommendations where appropriate,
to the Commission, to be transmitted to the European
Parliament and to the Council.

(7)

The High Level Group therefore has to be set up and its
terms of reference and structures detailed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The European High Level Group on Nuclear Safety and Waste
Management (hereinafter referred to as the ‘High Level Group’)
is hereby set up.

Article 2

Tasks

The High Level Group, at its own initiative or at the request of
the Commission, shall advise and assist the Commission in
progressively developing common understanding and eventually
additional European rules in the fields of:

(a)

the safety of nuclear installations, and

(4)

The High Level Group should be composed of the heads
of the national regulatory or safety authorities competent
in the areas of the safety of nuclear installations and the
safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The
Commission should designate a representative.

It shall facilitate consultations, coordination and cooperation of
national regulatory authorities.

(b) the safety of the management of spent fuel and radioactive

waste.

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Article 3

Composition

1.
The High Level Group shall be composed of 27 national
representatives with competence in the fields referred to in
Article 2 and a representative of the Commission. The group
may decide by simple majority to enlarge the membership by
inclusion of the deputy members.

Each Member State shall nominate one member and one deputy
member. Members of the group shall remain in office until such
time as they are replaced.

2.
A high-level representative shall be designated by the
Commission to attend the meetings and participate in the
debates of the High Level Group. The Commission's represen-
tative is an equal member of the group and takes part in all its
meetings.

3. Members who are no longer able to contribute effectively
to the group’s deliberations, who resign or who do not respect
the conditions
the
remaining period of their mandate.

for membership may be replaced for

4. Members appointed individually shall each year sign an
undertaking to act in the public interest and a declaration indi-
cating the absence or existence of any interest which may
undermine their objectivity.

Experts from EEA States and States which are candidates
5.
for accession to the European Union may attend the meeting of
the High Level Group as observers. The High Level Group and
the Commission may invite other experts and observers to
attend its meetings.

6.
The High Level Group shall adopt its Rules of Procedure
by consensus or, in the absence of consensus, by a two-thirds
majority vote, one vote being expressed per Member State,
subject to the approval of the Commission.

The Commission shall provide the secretariat of the High

7.
Level Group.

Article 5

Meeting expenses

Travel and subsistence expenses incurred by one representative
per Member State, in connection with the activities of the High
Level Group,
shall be reimbursed by the Commission in
accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission.

The members shall not be paid for their duties.

Article 6

Reporting

The names of members

5.
appointed individually are
published on the Internet site of the DG Transport and Energy.

The High Level Group shall submit, at least two years after the
entry into force of this Decision, and thereafter every two years,
a report of its activities to the Commission.

Article 4

Organisation

The Commission shall transmit the reports to the European
Parliament
appropriate with
comments.

and to the Council, where

The High Level Group elects a chair from amongst its

1.
members by a simple majority.

Article 7

Transparency

The High Level Group may set up expert working groups
2.
or sub-groups to study specific subjects under the terms of
reference established by the group. They shall be disbanded as
soon as these tasks have been fulfilled.

The High Level Group shall consult extensively with all stake-
holders and the interested public in an open and transparent
manner.

The Commission may attend all meetings of such expert

3.
working groups.

Article 8

Confidentiality

The group and its

4.
sub-groups normally meet on
Commission premises in accordance with the procedures and
schedule
secretarial
established. The Commission provides
services.

Where the Commission informs the High Level Group that the
advice requested or the question raised is of a confidential
nature, members of the Group as well as observers and any
other person shall be under an obligation not to disclose infor-
mation which has come to their knowledge through the work
of the High Level Group or its working groups.

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The Commission representative may request in such cases that only members of the High Level Group may
be present at meetings.

Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 9

Done at Brussels, 17 July 2007.

For the Commission

Andris PIEBALGS
Member of the Commission