COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE INTERIM EVALUATION OF INDIRECT ACTIONS OF THE EURATOM RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMME 2014-2018 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE Interim evaluation of the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2014-2018
Date: 2017-12-01
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: EAEC, EU financing, EU programme, Framework Programme for Research and Development, Joint Research Centre, nuclear research, nuclear safety, nuclear technology, scientific cooperation, vocational training

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 1.12.2017  SWD(2017) 441 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE  INTERIM EVALUATION OF INDIRECT ACTIONS OF THE EURATOM RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMME 2014-2018 Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE Interim evaluation of the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2014-2018 {COM(2017) 697 final} - {SWD(2017) 426 final} - {SWD(2017) 427 final} - {SWD(2017) 440 final}  
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This Commission staff working document (SWD) presents the interim evaluation of indirect 
actions  funded  through  the  Euratom  research  and  training  programme  2014-2018  (the 
'Euratom programme', or the 'programme'). A separate SWD presents the interim evaluation 
of direct actions. These two documents accompany the Commission report which sets out the 
Commission’s observations and  the findings  and recommendations  from independent expert 
groups assisting the Commission in carrying out this evaluation. 

In  accordance  with  Council  Regulation  1314/2013,  the  general  objective  of  the  Euratom 
programme  is  to  pursue  nuclear  research  and  training  activities  with  an  emphasis  on 
continuously  improving  nuclear  safety,  security  and  radiation  protection.  The  programme's 
scope  and  objectives  are  based  on  the  compromise  reached  by  the  Council  following  the 
Fukushima  nuclear  accident.  As  a  result,  the  Euratom  programme  contains  objectives 
allowing  coordination  of  nuclear  research  in  some  specific  areas.  The  compromise  is  also 
reflected in the budget allocated for the fission part of the programme. The Commission notes 
that for the moment a high level of expertise in nuclear research is still available in Europe, 
and  one  of  the  aims  of  a  European  research  and  training  programme  is  to  maintain  this 
potential for the future.  

The interim evaluation finds that the programme’s original rationale for intervention and its 
objectives  are  highly  relevant.  As  confirmed  by  the  Commission  Expert  Group,  Euratom 
research  focuses  on  challenges  of  importance  to  the  public.  The  programme  provides  a 
balance between the need to support the safety of nuclear technology in Europe and the need 
to underpin safety in the future. Euratom waste management projects help to better understand 
the  issues  relevant  to  the  effective  management  of  radioactive  waste  in  the  EU.  These  are 
issues,  such  as  the  safety  of  future  geological  disposal  facilities,  the  conditioning  of 
radioactive waste,  the  long-term  behaviour  of  spent  fuel in  a  repository  and  the  clean-up  of 
decommissioned  sites.  Euratom  research  on  radiation  protection  will  lead  to  an  improved 
knowledge  of  the  effects  of  low  doses  of  ionising  radiation  on  the  human  biota.  This  will 
translate  into  a  more  effective  and  safer  use  of  radiation  and  radionuclides  in  medical 
diagnostic and therapeutic practices. Public consultation revealed that the programme is also 
important for research stakeholders and end-users of nuclear research – the nuclear industry, 
operators of power plants and safety authorities. The programme's relevance is also shown by 
the sustained interest in the competitive calls issued under the fission part of the programme.  

On  effectiveness,  after  three  years  of  implementation  of  the  Euratom  programme  (2014-
2016), evidence indicates that progress is being made in delivering on all Euratom objectives 
in indirect actions, as set by the Council Regulation. In fusion there is significant progress on 
the agreed roadmap toward demonstrating the feasibility of fusion as a future energy source 
(47%  of  the  research  milestones  for  2014-2018  were  achieved  by  2016).  In  particular,  the 
programme  is  delivering  key  information  and  data  of  relevance  for  the  future  operation  of 
ITER,  the  ground-breaking  global  research  facility  under  construction  in  France.  By 
confirming  appropriate  ITER  design  options  and/or  investigating  relevant  plasma  scenarios 
and  optimising  plasma  operation  and  control  measures,  Euratom  research  reduces  costs  and 
associated ITER construction and operation risks. The EUROfusion  consortium  coordinated 
the  joint  exploitation  of  three  research  tokamaks  and  supporting  facilities,  and  Euratom 
supported access to these infrastructures for more than 1000 researchers in 2016. As a result, 

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European  researchers  submitted  about  1000  articles  in  high-impact  peer-reviewed  scientific 
journals.  

First reports show progress by fission projects in the three key areas of research (safety, waste 
management  and  radiation  protection)  with  half  of  them  having  a  safety  focus.  While  the 
number  of  publications  is  understandably  low  at  what  is  only  the  start  of  project 
implementation, Euratom projects have already set up substantial teams of researchers (almost 
1200 people) and are reporting progress in reaching milestones.  

Euratom  is  also  at  the  forefront  in  implementing  the  new  instruments  in  the  area  of  joint 
programming  of  research.  In  2014,  the  Euratom  programme  successfully  pioneered  the  first 
use of the European Joint Programme (EJP) co-fund action with the major EUROfusion grant 
agreement for fusion energy research. Since then, in 2015, Euratom introduced another Joint 
Programme  co-fund  action  (CONCERT)  for  radiation  protection  focused  on  achieving 
breakthroughs in understanding the effects of low doses of ionising radiation.  

The  results  of  the  interim  evaluation  show  a  good  overall  level  of  efficiency  in  programme 
management (in particular, grant management and proposal evaluation in the case of indirect 
actions)  and  implementation  by  the  Commission.  The  Commission  is  keeping  its  own 
administrative  expenditure  for  indirect  actions  below  the  target  of  an  average  of  7%  of  the 
operational budget for 2014-2018, and available data shows that the planned target of 6% for 
2018 will be met. Simplification measures introduced since the start of the programme have 
greatly  improved  efficiency,  notably  for  the  time-to-grant  (TTG).  The  average  TTG  for  the 
Euratom  7th  Framework  Programme  was  315  days,  whereas  it  was  261  days  for  the  23 
projects launched following the 2014-2015 call, and decreased further to only 229 days for the 
25 projects from the 2016-17 call.  

A  key  part  of  the  European  added  value  of  Euratom  indirect  actions,  as  underlined  by 
stakeholders, is the EU's ability to mobilise a wider pool of excellence, expertise and multi-
disciplinarity in nuclear research than individual Member States could. Through cooperative 
research and innovation, the Euratom programme also enables a Europe-wide approach to the 
improvement  of  nuclear  safety  and  radiation  protection  in  all  areas  of  application.  This 
complements  the  Euratom  Directives  on  nuclear  safety,  radioactive  waste  management  and 
basic safety standards and involves demonstrable scientific and technological progress in all 
areas that would not have been possible without a collaborative pan-European approach. The 
Euratom programme also enables a much more broad-based coordination throughout Europe 
of  education  and  training,  the  use  of  research  infrastructures  and  international  cooperation. 
This  is  of  particular  benefit  to  smaller  Member  States,  which  can  then  take  advantage  of 
economies of scale afforded by the Europe-wide pooling effect. 

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