REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL Specific Monitoring Report on research activities for nuclear safety and security supported by the Euratom Framework Programme 2012 – 2013
Date: 2013-05-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Framework Programme for Research and Development, Japan, nuclear accident, nuclear energy, nuclear fission, nuclear research, nuclear safety, scientific research

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.5.2013  
COM(2013) 308 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

Specific Monitoring Report on research activities for nuclear safety and security 
supported by the Euratom Framework Programme 2012 – 2013 

{SWD(2013) 187 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

Specific Monitoring Report on research activities for nuclear safety and security 
supported by the Euratom Framework Programme 2012 – 2013 

1. INTRODUCTION 

In  accordance  with  Article  6(1)  of  the  Framework  Programme  of  the  European  Atomic 
Energy  Community  for  nuclear  research  and  training  activities  (2012  to  2013)1,  hereinafter 
FP7+2,  ‘In  early  2013,  a  specific  monitoring  report  shall  be  presented  to  the  Council, 
dedicated  to  the  implementation  of  nuclear  safety  and  security  activities  of  the  Framework 
Programme.’  

The  Commission  has  fulfilled  its  reporting  obligation  by  completing  the  present  report 
together  with  the  attached  Staff  Working  Document2.  This  report  covers  indirect  actions 
implemented by the Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation, as well as 
direct actions carried out by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and addresses research activities 
concerning nuclear safety and security as well as radiation protection. 

Nuclear  safety  research  aims  at  protecting  people  and  the  environment  against  the  adverse 
effects  of  ionising  radiation.  It  applies  to  the  full  range  of  provisions  from  the  design  of 
nuclear installations to their construction and operation and final decommissioning, including 
the disposal of radioactive waste.  

Radiation safety applies to the protection from and safe use of ionising radiation, including for 
medical imaging and therapy as well as the use of radiation sources for industrial radiography.  

Research on nuclear security encompasses the fields of safeguards verification, detection and 
prevention  of  nuclear  proliferation  as  well  as  detection  of  and  response  to  malevolent  acts 
involving  nuclear  and  radioactive  materials  and  is  exclusively  addressed  within  the  direct 
actions of the JRC.  

Furthermore,  it  is  important  to  underline  that  Euratom  nuclear  safety  and  security  research 
activities do not only address issues related to the production of electricity but also cover the 
use  of  ionising  radiation  for  a  wide  range  of  applications  in  research,  industry,  health  and 
medicine.  

2. MAIN FINDINGS 

Following the Fukushima accidents in 2011, the general objective of the Euratom Framework 
Programme  for  nuclear  research  and  training  activities  (2012  to  2013)  was  refocused  on 
nuclear safety and security.  

The  annexed  Staff  Working  Document  provides  detailed  information  on  the  key  research 
activities that were undertaken by direct and indirect actions to meet this objective. 

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Council Decision 2012/93/Euratom, OJ. L 47/25, 18 February 2012 
Staff  Working  Document  (SWD(2013)  187  final)  -  Specific  Monitoring  Report  on  research  activities 
for nuclear safety and security supported by the Euratom Framework Programme (2012 – 2013)  

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2.1. Collaborative research  

Indirect  actions  in  the  field  of  nuclear  fission  research  cover  the  following  activities: 
Management  of  Radioactive  Waste,  Reactor  Systems,  Radiation  Protection,  Infrastructures, 
Human resources, Mobility and training and Cross-cutting actions.  

The  safety  related  part  of  the  Euratom  Programme  was  already  granted  very  high  priority 
under  the  previous  7th  Framework  Programme  (2007-2011),  hereinafter  FP7.  Following  the 
re-orientation decided by the Council in 2011, the Euratom Work Programmes 2012 and 2013 
gave total emphasis on nuclear safety. As a result, the emphasis on safety aspects was largely 
increased, reaching more than 90% of the resources devoted to collaborative and co-operative 
research  actions.  The  need  to  ensure  coordination  with  other  non-nuclear  and  cross-cutting 
fields explains why this percentage did not reach 100%. 

Looking  at  the  repartition  of  the  supported  domains,  the  FP7+2  programme  increased  the 
relative importance of infrastructures, human resources and cross-cutting actions to strengthen 
the European capacity for the development of the basic knowledge in the field of safety. 

2.2. Direct actions 

The main activities of the JRC support both the Commission and Member States in fulfilling 
their  Euratom  Treaty's  obligations  in  the  field  of:  nuclear  waste  management  and 
environmental impact; safety of nuclear installations and the fuel cycle; and nuclear security, 
safeguards  and  non-proliferation.  Cross-cutting  activities  such  as  international  cooperation, 
standardisation,  and  education  and  training  have  also  been  performed  throughout  FP7  and 
FP7+2.  

Within each topic, research and development activities have been pursued. The development 
of  scientific/technical  data  and,  in  specific  cases,  support  to  Euratom  policy,  has  been 
delivered.  The  work  programme  has  been  aligned  in  order  to  maintain  a  good  balance 
between scientific outputs, stakeholder-requested deliverables and ad-hoc policy support.  

There  was  a  further  focussing  of  the  JRC's  nuclear  safety  activities  in  2012  and  2013  that 
followed the re-orientations already taken in 2011 as an immediate response to the Fukushima 
event. For example a high priority was given to support the implementation of the EU Nuclear 
Power Plants "Stress tests" peer review. The JRC also established a new activity on nuclear 
accident modelling and severe accidents management to contribute to the post Fukushima EU 
and IAEA research activities in this field. 
In  the  security  domain  a  high  priority  was  set  in  providing  a  contribution  to  the 
implementation of the EU-CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear) Action plan as 
well  as  to  the  support  for  DG  DEVCO  for  the  establishment  of  the  CBRN  Centres  of 
Excellence outside EU. 
In  addition,  research  on  NPP  decommissioning  was  included  in  the  JRC  nuclear  activities 
with  emphasis  being  placed  on  related  education  and  training.  This  JRC  initiative  was  well 
supported by the European Parliament. 

3. CONCLUSIONS 

Following the events in Fukushima in March 2011, the Council considered that the Euratom 
research in the field of nuclear fission should be more focused on safety and security aspects. 

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The  Staff  Working  Document  annexed  to  this  report  illustrates  that  this  reorientation  of  the 
research efforts has effectively taken place under the Euratom Programme for 2012-2013.  

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