Executive summary : JRC strategy for its nuclear activities.
Date: 2023-01-18
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: accident prevention, industrial infrastructure, nuclear research, nuclear safety, organisation of research, radioactive pollution, scientific research

Executive Summary: JRC Strategy for its 
Nuclear Activities 

HIGHLIGHTS  

→ The Executive summary provides an overview of 
the JRC’s Strategy for its Nuclear Activities, 
presenting the nine Key Actions and the main 
topics that informed the creation of the strategy. 

→ The strategy envisions both a medium and a long-
term horizon, allowing the strategy to include key 
foresight elements. 

→ Five priority areas have been identified, all of equal 
importance. These are Activities, Communication, 
Competencies, Infrastructure and Stakeholders. 

→ The strategy responds to the key challenges that the 
European Union is facing, while taking into account 
the current Euratom Research and Training 
Programme budget. 

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The  development  of  the  Nuclear  Strategy  stems  from  the 
need to tailor the JRC’s nuclear programme to European and 
global  challenges  and  to  accommodate  the  considerable 
reduction  of  the  Euratom  Research  and  Training  Programme 
budget. 

Through  a  medium-term  outlook,  the  JRC’s  Nuclear  Strategy 
addresses  the  entire  scope  of  the  JRC’s  nuclear  activities, 
including  the  safe  and  secure  use  of  nuclear  technology, 
innovative nuclear systems and applications, the management 
of  nuclear  competencies,  nuclear  knowledge, 
  research 
facilities,  support  to  nuclear-related  EU  policies  and  the 
the  Decommissioning  and  Waste 
implementation  of 

Management  Programme.  The  Nuclear  Strategy  also  JRC 
nuclear activities’ evolving scope, role and impact. 

To  achieve its  objectives,  the  Nuclear  Strategy  has  identified 
require  action:  Activities, 
five  Priority  Areas  which 
Communication, 
and 
Infrastructure 
Stakeholders.  The  JRC  will  address  them  by  implementing 
nine key actions. 

Competencies, 

K E Y  A C TI O NS    
The actions identified by the Nuclear Strategy have the 
overarching objective of enabling the JRC to carry out its 
important mandate, i.e. to provide independent and neutral 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
support to policy, research, education and training within the 
nuclear field and related areas.  

→ Action 1: aims to prioritise and reorganise activities 

by merging, reducing and gradually phasing out 
activities with lower priority. It will enable addressing 
new priorities with an appropriate amount of 
resources;  

→ Action 2: aims to strengthen cooperation between 
nuclear and non-nuclear domains within the JRC; 
→ Action 3: aims to improve communication of the 
scientific work carried within the JRC through a 
targeted, transparent and proactive strategy; 
→ Action 4: aims to ensure an active and strategic 

partnership with EU Member States; 

→ Action 5: aims to optimise international cooperation 
with international organisations and third countries 
based on the EU priorities; 

→ Action 6: aims to address the issue of competencies 
management. This will be done to maintain critical 
capabilities and simultaneously acquire new skills in 
line with future JRC priorities; 

→ Action 7: aims to develop tools for efficient 

knowledge management and to incorporate this 
element as part of the research activities; 

→ Action 8: aims to concentrate, cluster and optimise 

essential experimental facilities (Petten, Geel, 
Karlsruhe and Ispra) by consolidating projects and 
activities by thematic priorities, and enabling its use, 
through open access, by the Euratom Community; 
→ Action 9: aims to fulfil the JRC’s responsibility for 
decommissioning its obsolete nuclear research 
facilities by ensuring coherence and compatibility 
between the research and training programme’s 
implementation and the Decommissioning and Waste 
Management programme. 

The JRC steers the implementation through a detailed 
implementation plan to accommodate the necessary 
adjustments in response to the changing scientific and 
political landscape in the EU and at a global level. After two 
years, there will be a review of the implementation plan, 
whilst an assessment of the strategy will take place after five 
years.   

BR OA D  NU CL E A R  T O PI C S  T A K E N  I N TO  
CO N SI D E RA TI ON  I N  TH E   NU C L E A R   S TRA TE GY  
-  Nuclear safety: addressing different aspects such as 
safety of current and innovative reactors and their fuel 
cycles (including Small Modular Reactors and advanced 
systems), long term operation, spent fuel and 

radioactive waste management and disposal, 
radioactivity monitoring and emergency preparedness 
and response;  

-  Nuclear safeguards: addressing safeguards analytical 
methods, which ensures state-of-the-art analysis of 
nuclear materials, and addressing digitalisation and new 
technologies within the field of nuclear safeguards; 

-  Nuclear security: addressing capacity building in 

internal and external security through the European 
Nuclear Security Training Centre (EUSECTRA), and 
aiming at constantly improving detection and analysis 
techniques;  

-  Non-proliferation: addressing tools and 

methodologies to control dual-use technologies and 
R&D on proliferation resistance; 

-  Nuclear Science and Non-Power Applications: 

addressing medical use of radioisotopes and innovative 
applications of nuclear technology; 

-  Nuclear Competencies and Knowledge 

Management: aiming at identifying and improving 
nuclear competencies, knowledge management for 
decommissioning, and integrating nuclear in JRC 
communication strategy, ultimately improving nuclear 
communication; 

-  Nuclear Standardisation and Digitalisation: 
addressing harmonisation of EU radioactivity 
measurements, providing technical and scientific 
support through the provision of nuclear data, reference 
materials and methods, supporting the development of 
standards and better applying digital solutions in the 
field of nuclear technologies; 

- 

Cooperation with EU Member States and 
International Actors: aiming at continuous 
complementarity between Euratom direct and indirect 
actions, supporting integrated R&D platforms, the 
fulfilment of the EC Euratom responsibilities, and the 
implementation of regular review and assessment of 
agreements based on an agreed set of criteria; 

-  Operational Decommissioning and Waste 

Management: addressing the definition and carrying 
out the decommissioning programme, ensuring the 
dissemination of knowledge and experience in relevant 
areas, and ensuring consistency between reduction, 
concentration and reorganisation of nuclear 
infrastructures and activities. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
BI B L I O GR A PH I C  I N F ORM A TI ON:  
Goulart De Medeiros, M., Wastin, F., Martin Ramos, M., Lanzke, 
G. and Geremicca, J., Executive Summary: JRC Strategy for its 
Nuclear Activities, Publications Office of the European Union, 
Luxembourg, 2022, ISBN 978-92-76-61583-5 (online), 
Catalogue Number: KJ-03-22-300-EN-N (online), 
doi:10.2760/33394 (online), JRC132060. 

D I S CL A I M E R  OR  O TH E R   F I NA L  D E TA I L S  
This executive summary has been developed by the JRC Unit 
A.7. Euratom Coordination on the basis of the new JRC’s 
Strategy for its Nuclear Activities. This falls within the 
framework of the Revitalising the JRC Strategy 2030, which is 
also publicly available. 

CO P Y RI G H T    
© European Union, 2023, except:  image 1 ©  James  Marvin  Phelps  Jr  – 
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/global-energy-center/the-
future-of-nuclear-power/nuclear-energy-and-national-security-coalition-
nensc/.