REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on progress of implementation of Council Directive 2011/70/EURATOM and an inventory of radioactive waste and spent fuel present in the Community's territory and the future prospects THIRD REPORT
Date: 2024-05-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, application of EU law, nuclear fuel, nuclear policy, nuclear safety, radioactive pollution, radioactive waste, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.5.2024  COM(2024) 197 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on progress of implementation of Council Directive 2011/70/EURATOM and an inventory of radioactive waste and spent fuel present in the Community's territory and the future prospects                                       THIRD REPORT {SWD(2024) 123 final} - {SWD(2024) 127 final}  
 
 
 
 
1 

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 2 

2  RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ........................... 3 

2.1  Origin of radioactive waste and spent fuel ................................................................. 3 

2.2 

Inventory estimates and trends ................................................................................... 4 

2.3  Future prospects ......................................................................................................... 7 

2.4  Trends and challenges ................................................................................................ 8 

3  ENSURING  SAFE  AND  RESPONSIBLE  MANAGEMENT  OF  SPENT  FUEL  AND 
RADIOACTIVE WASTE ............................................................................................................... 9 

3.1  National frameworks .................................................................................................. 9 

3.1.1  Competent regulatory authorities ......................................................................... 9 

3.1.2 

Licence holders ................................................................................................... 10 

3.1.3 

Expertise and skills ............................................................................................. 10 

3.1.4 

Financial resources ............................................................................................. 10 

3.1.5 

Transparency and public participation ............................................................... 11 

3.1.6 

Infringements ...................................................................................................... 12 

3.2  National programmes ............................................................................................... 12 

3.2.1 

State of progress ................................................................................................. 12 

3.2.2  Main plans and policies ...................................................................................... 13 

3.2.3  Monitoring progress towards implementation ................................................... 13 

3.2.4  Research, development and demonstration activities ......................................... 14 

3.2.5 

Infringements ...................................................................................................... 14 

3.3  Self-assessment and international peer reviews ....................................................... 15 

4  CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 15 

1 

 
 
1 

INTRODUCTION 

Under  Article  14(2)  of  Council  Directive  2011/70/Euratom1  on  the  responsible  and  safe 
management  of  spent  fuel2  and  radioactive  waste3  ('the  Directive')  the  Commission  must 
submit to the European Parliament and Council: 

•  progress reports on the implementation of this Directive; and 
•  an  inventory  of  radioactive  waste  and  spent  fuel  present  in  the  European  Atomic 
Energy  Community’s  (‘the  Community’)  territory  and  the  future  prospects,  on  the 
basis of Member States’ national reports due every 3 years as per Article 14(1) of the 
Directive4. 

The  Commission  presented  two  progress  reports5,6  to  the  EU  public  in  2017  and  2019, 
providing  a  comprehensive  overview  of  the  situation.  This  third  report  covers  the  period 
2018-2021. 

It is based on the Member States’ national reports due for submission to the Commission by 
23 August 2021  ( ‘the  reporting date’).  It addresses the overall EU inventory of radioactive 
waste  and  spent  fuel  (Section  2),  Member  State  compliance  with  the  key  aspects  of  the 
Directive (Section 3) and sets out the Commission’s conclusions (Section 4). 

The report is accompanied by two staff working documents:  

1  

2  

3  

4  

5  

6  

Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011 establishing a Community framework for 
the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, OJ L 199, 2.8.2011, p. 
48. 
Spent fuel is “nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in and permanently removed from a reactor 
core”  (Article  3(11)  of  the  Directive)  and  that  is  no  longer  usable  in  its  current  form.  It  is 
generated  by  the  operation  of  nuclear  reactors  for  power  generation,  research,  training  and 
demonstration. 
Radioactive waste is “radioactive material in gaseous, liquid or solid form for which no further 
use is foreseen or considered” (Article 3(7) of the Directive) and which has been classified as 
radioactive waste. Its generation is associated with the production of electricity in nuclear power 
plants or with non-power-related uses of radioactive materials for medical, research, industrial 
and agricultural purposes. Please see SWD(2024) 123 on progress of implementation of Council 
Directive 2011/70/Euratom for the definitions of others important concepts as provided by the 
Directive, such as storage or disposal. 
The analysis presented in the report is based on the national reports and the newly adopted or 
updated  national  programmes  as  submitted  by  Member  States  in  August  2021.  The  United 
Kingdom  did  not  provide  a  report.  To  enable  comparison  with  historical  data,  the  United 
Kingdom’s inventory share was removed from the overall EU inventory in 2013 and 2016. 
Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  on  progress  of 
implementation  of  Council  Directive  2011/70/Euratom  and  an  inventory  of  radioactive  waste 
and  spent  fuel  present  in  the  Community's  territory  and  the  future  prospects,  15  May  2017, 
COM(2017) 236 final, and corresponding SWD(2017) 159 final and SWD(2017) 161 final. 
Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  on  progress  of 
implementation  of  Council  Directive  2011/70/Euratom  and  an  inventory  of  radioactive  waste 
and spent fuel present in the Community's territory and the future prospects – Second report, 17 
December  2019,  COM(2019)  632  final,  and  corresponding  SWD(2019)  435  final  and 
SWD(2019) 436 final. 

2 

 
 
•  one  presents  the  EU  inventory  of  radioactive  waste  and  spent  fuel  and  its  prospects, 

• 

with a reference date of December 2019; and 
the  other  presents  the  overall  situation  on  spent  fuel  and  radioactive  waste 
management  in  the  Community  based  on  the  Commission’s  analyses  of  the  national 
reports. 

Section 2 below provides an overview of radioactive waste and spent fuel inventories in the 
EU-27, including trends and prospects. Section 3 summarises the assessment of how national 
frameworks and policies are currently implemented under the Directive, highlighting progress 
made and challenges, compared to the previous reporting cycles. 

2  RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 

Under  the  Directive’s  requirements  the  Commission  periodically  provides  a  transparent  and 
comprehensive  overview  of  the  Community-wide  inventories  of  spent  fuel  and  radioactive 
waste, including prospects. This information is key to see whether Member States have taken 
reasonable steps in their national policies and programmes to minimise the amounts generated 
and  ensure  in  good  time  sufficient  storage  and  disposal  capacities  to  avoid  imposing  any 
undue burden on future generations in managing spent fuel and radioactive waste. 

2.1  Origin of radioactive waste and spent fuel 

All Member States generate radioactive waste through various activities ranging from medical 
applications to electricity generation. A total of 17 Member States also manage spent nuclear 
fuel on their territory. Owing to its radiological properties and the potential hazard it poses to 
workers,  the  public  and  the  environment,  the  safe  management  of  such  material  from  its 
generation to disposal must be ensured. This requires containment and isolation from humans 
and the living environment over periods of time ranging from several days to several hundreds 
of thousands of years, depending on the radioactivity content of the material. 

Most of the radioactive waste originates from nuclear power plants and associated nuclear fuel 
cycle activities. Smaller volumes of radioactive waste are generated as a result of non-power 
uses of  radioactive materials,  such  as  the manufacturing of radioisotopes for use in medical 
and industrial applications, or research facilities such as laboratories and research reactors. 

Each  Member  State  defines  its  own  electricity  generation  mix  and  as  of  the  reporting  date 
nuclear power plants were in operation in 13 countries7. Two other Member States, Lithuania 
and  Italy,  had  terminated  their  nuclear  power  programmes  and  were  decommissioning  their 
nuclear installations. At the end of the reporting period, these 15 Member States with nuclear 
power  programmes8  together  accounted  for  99.5%  in  volume  of  the  radioactive  waste 
inventory in the EU. 

7  

8  

Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Czechia,  Finland,  France,  Germany,  Hungary,  the  Netherlands,  Romania, 
Slovakia,  Slovenia,  Spain  and  Sweden.  In  addition,  although  it  has  no  nuclear  power  plant 
within its own national borders, Croatia co-owns the Krsko nuclear power plant with Slovenia. 
For the purposes of this report, those Member States that have nuclear power reactors on their 
territory either operational or shut-down are indicated as Member States with a nuclear power 
programme. 

3 

 
 
By the reporting date, 103 nuclear power reactors were in operation, with a total capacity of 
about  101  GWe,  66  nuclear  power  reactors  were  permanently  shut  down  and  being 
decommissioned, and 3 nuclear power reactors were fully decommissioned. In addition, there 
were  30  research  reactors  in  18  Member  States  either  in  operation,  long-term  shutdown  or 
being  decommissioned9.  Therefore,  further  spent  fuel  and  long-lived  radioactive  waste  will 
arise, requiring their safe and long-term management until disposal. 

2.2 

Inventory estimates and trends 

The Commission services collaborated with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 
and the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) on defining a harmonised set of data on the 
reporting  of  national  inventories  and  supported  the  development  of  an  IAEA  harmonised 
reporting tool – the Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Information System (SRIS) – to help 
Member States provide comprehensive and up-to-date inventories. 

The  Commission  also  carried  out  a  study  on  the  benchmarking  of  national  inventories10, 
followed by another study on radioactive waste classification schemes in the EU11. 

The  former  study  concluded  that  the  standardised  communication  approach  used  between 
licensees and authorities appears to be efficient and to suit user needs. It also pointed out that 
radioactive  waste  classification  may  not  systematically  apply  for  all  reported  waste  in  the 
national  reports,  and  the  approaches,  methods  and  tools  that  Member  States  use  to  develop 
their inventories were not systematically published. 

The latter study confirmed that there are no apparent needs for adopting a harmonised waste 
classification  system  across  the  Member  States,  although  the  need  for  harmonised  reporting 
remains.  

The quality of the inventory has not substantially changed compared to the previous reporting 
cycle.  One  third  of  the  Member  States  (mainly  those  with  nuclear  programmes)  provided 
detailed  inventory  information,  while  most  of  the  others  reported  incomplete  inventory  data 
and in the same format as in the first reporting cycle. Eight Member States introduced their 
inventory data in SRIS by June 2023. The rest of the Member States are  encouraged to take 
advantage  of  systematically  reporting  through  this  system  as  well.  The  Commission  will 
continue  to  support  Member  States  in  addressing  quality  and  harmonisation  aspects  of 
reporting, mainly by promoting the use of SRIS. 

Most Member States have presented their radioactive waste inventory using the classification 
scheme as per the IAEA safety guide GSG-112 or have provided matrixes enabling data to be 
the  classification  scheme 
converted  from 

their  national  classification  scheme 

into 

9  
10  

11  

12  

See the IAEA Research Reactor Database: https://nucleus.iaea.org/RRDB/RR/ReactorSearch.aspx. 
Benchmark  Analysis  of  Member  States  Approaches  to  Definition  of  National  Inventories  for 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
Radioactive  Waste 
- 
Spent 
/publication/e8d170a2-4016-11eb-b27b-01aa75ed71a1/language-en.  
Study  on  radioactive  waste  classification  schemes  in  the  EU  -  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/a3fa58a2-dcce-11ed-a05c-01aa75ed71a1. 

Fuel 

and 

‘Classification of Radioactive Waste’, General Safety Guide, IAEA, Vienna, 2009. 

4 

 
 
recommended by the IAEA. 

At the end of 2019 the estimated total inventory of radioactive waste on the EU-27 territory 
was  2 334 000 m3  (a  5  %  increase  since  the  previous  reporting  period,  corresponding  to  an 
average yearly production of less than 40 000 m3) 13. 

Approximately  66%  of  this  waste  had  been  disposed  of14  (1 552 000 m3)  and  34% 
(782 000 m3) was in  storage15 and will have to  be managed in  the future.  Data show that in 
those Member States where disposal routes are open for very-low-level and low-level waste, 
the process from generation to disposal appears generally flowing; for these classes of waste 
the amounts in storage fell by 10% (28 000 m3), while the amounts disposed of increased by 
8%  (122 000 m3).  Not  surprisingly,  the  same  was  not  observed  for  intermediate-level  and 
high-level waste as well as spent fuel, as currently there are no operational disposal facilities 
to handle these waste classes. 

13  

14  

15  

The  yearly  average  radioactive  waste  generation  per  capita  was  ~90  milliliters;  this  amount 
corresponds to less than 0.1% compared to the yearly production of hazardous waste in general. 
‘Disposal’ means  the  emplacement  of  spent fuel  or radioactive  waste in  a facility  without the 
intention of retrieval. 
‘Storage’ means the holding of spent fuel or of radioactive waste in a facility with the intention 
of retrieval. 

5 

 
 
Box 1 

Volumes and status of radioactive waste in the European Union, end of 2016 and 2019. 

Amounts (thousands m3) 

Stored 

Disposed of 

Total 

Year 

2016 

2019 

2016 

2019 

2016 

2019 

VLLW 

LLW 

ILW 

HLW 

233 

381 

178 

4.5 

233 

369 

462 

601 

695 

353 

1 039 

1 068 

1 420 

1 421 

191 

4.8 

12 

0 

22 

0 

190 

4.5 

213 

4.8 

Total 

796 

782 

1 420 

1 552 

2 216 

2 334 

Distribution  of  total  volumes  of  radioactive  waste  in  Member  States  with  a  nuclear  power 
programme, end of 2019. 

The distribution of radioactive waste by class remained for the most part unchanged, with the 
highest share for low-level waste and the second highest for very-low-level waste. A specific 
point  to  consider  is  that  some  Member  States  do  not  have  a  separate  very-low-level  waste 
class, as defined in the IAEA GSG-1 waste classification scheme. Such waste is reported as 
part  of  the  low-level  waste  class.  The  result  is  that  the  amounts  of  very-low-level  waste 
reported are underestimates while the amounts of low-level waste reported are overestimates. 

Intermediate-level waste and high-level waste are generated and safely stored predominantly 
in the Member States with nuclear power programmes.  

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Box 2 - Distribution of radioactive waste per category. 

At  the  end  of  201916,  approximately  54 700 tHM  of  spent  fuel  were  stored  in  the  EU-27, 
(approximately 5% increase from 2016 and  a 12% increase from 2013). About 1.5% of this 
spent fuel was sent for reprocessing outside the EU with expected returns of the radioactive 
waste resulting from reprocessing. 

All spent fuel in the EU is currently in storage, as no civil disposal facility for spent fuel is in 
operation worldwide.  Most Member States operating nuclear power plants  intend to  dispose 
of  their  spent  fuel  in  deep  geological  facilities  without  reprocessing.  However,  some  are 
reprocessing their spent fuel, while others keep an option for reprocessing in their policies. 

2.3  Future prospects 

In  the  previous  report,  the  inventory  data  reported  by  the  Member  States  enabled  the 
Commission  to  present,  for  the  first  time,  the  prospects  for  creating  an  Euratom  radioactive 
waste and spent fuel inventory until 2030. In the current reporting cycle, some Member States 
provided an updated inventory forecast resulting in an updated forecast until 2030. 

16  

The cut-off date for most data is end 2019 in order to reduce reporting burden on the Member 
States  and  facilitate  joint  reporting  with  the  Joint  Convention.  Please  see  SWD(2024)  127  on 
inventory for details. 

7 

 
 
 
 
Box 3 - Evolution of radioactive waste (left) and spent fuel (right) inventories. 

The  level  of  detail  provided  by  Member  States  varied  considerably,  particularly  about  the 
waste  that  originated  from  non-power  applications  and  the  decommissioning  of  nuclear 
installations.  Due  to  limitations  of  the  reported  data,  the  current  projection  of  radioactive 
waste  and  spent  fuel  amounts  until  2030  is  an  estimate.  Most  Member  States  provided 
estimates of their future inventories for 2050. However, due to the unavailability of inventory 
forecast data for 2050 from some Member States with large inventories, it was not possible to 
provide  an  overall  EU  inventory  long-term  forecast.  Since  most  national  programmes  cover 
periods of over 100 years, Member States are encouraged to work on estimates spanning until 
2050 and to reduce as much as possible the level of uncertainty that has been observed by the 
Commission. Quality of the inventory data is expected to improve due to the use of SRIS. If it 
is not the case, the Commission may decide to set minimum standards for accurate, complete 
and transparent reporting. 

Due  to  the  planned  shutdown  and  the  anticipated  decommissioning  of  several  nuclear 
installations,  the  amount  of  waste  will  increase  significantly  during  the  next  decade.  It  is 
expected  that  by  2030  very-low-level  waste  amounts  may  almost  double,  while  the  other 
waste classes could increase by between 38% and 73%. Therefore, attention should be paid to: 
i)  minimising  radioactive  waste  at  the  origin;  ii)  developing  and  implementing  predisposal 
options to reduce waste volumes; and iii) developing of new storage or disposal facilities. 

2.4  Trends and challenges  

The  current  lack  of  operational  deep  geological  disposal  facilities  leads  to  continuously 
increasing amounts of stored intermediate- and high-level waste, and spent fuel, which creates 
challenges  in  terms  of  ensuring  sufficient  long-term  storage  capacity  and  developing 
sustainable disposal  solutions. Figure 1 shows the Member States’ current  plans for starting 
the operation of deep geological facilities. 

Figure 1. Planned start of operation of deep geological facilities. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
The length of these plans combined with pending decisions and lack of concrete steps might 
jeopardise  the  timely  delivery  of  such  projects.  Member  States  need  to  increase  their 
engagement  as  regards  developing  long-term  management  solutions  for  intermediate-level 
waste,  high-level  waste,  and  spent  fuel,  including  research,  development  and  demonstration 
activities  as  soon  as  possible  to  avoid  placing  an  undue  burden  on  future  generations.  All 
necessary measures should be taken to ensure that at policy and technical level no excessive 
delays  in  implementing  projects  are  encountered  in  the  future.  As  such,  all  Member  States 
should  optimise  planning,  commit  sufficient  resources,  carry  out  the  necessary  research  and 
training  activities  and  engage  with  the  public  and  other  stakeholders  to  accelerate 
implementation. This shows that Member States have much to gain from aligning with each 
other’s  best  practices  to  ensure  that  the  principles  of  safe  and  responsible  management  of 
spent fuel and radioactive waste that are enshrined in the Directive are sufficiently adhered to. 

Most  countries  are  progressing  in  the  construction,  modernisation  and  extension  of  storage 
facilities, despite experiencing some delays compared to the original plans. 

Decommissioning nuclear power plants is becoming an increasingly important activity for the 
European  nuclear  industry.  The  decommissioning  of  nuclear  sites  that  were  shut  down  is 
ongoing in a quarter of the Member States. 

3  ENSURING  SAFE  AND  RESPONSIBLE  MANAGEMENT  OF  SPENT  FUEL 

AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE 

3.1  National frameworks 

In general, the Member States’ national frameworks have continued to improve in recent past 
years,  mainly  through  adopting  national  legislative  measures  that  addressed  residual 
transposing issues, and which led to the closure of two thirds of infringement procedures on 
incorrect transposition of the Directive. 

Beside  the  dialogue  with  the  Commission,  self-assessments  and  international  peer  reviews 
have  proven  to  be  driving  forces  behind  the  alignment  of  national  frameworks  with  the 
requirements of the Directive. 

3.1.1  Competent regulatory authorities 

In  2019  the  Commission  concluded  that  all  Member  States  had  at  least  one  competent 
regulatory authority. In a few cases, the arrangements are such that local/regional competent 
authorities  deal  with  radioactive  waste  management  along  with  national  authorities;  the 
related national reports did not provide information  on their roles and responsibilities, or on 
how they interact with each other. 

While  most  Member States  devised  mechanisms  to  retain skilled staff within the regulatory 
authorities, some faced challenges in maintaining adequate human resources in the long term. 
Outcomes of recent international peer review missions confirmed this trend. 

Most  national  reports  provide  information  on  measures  for  ensuring  technical  and  financial 
independence of the competent regulatory authorities. A total of 19 Member States provided 
actual  staff  numbers;  therefore,  the  information  does  not  cover  the  full  EU-27.  The 
Commission  reiterates its  call to  Member States  to  provide the  relevant  information  as  they 

9 

 
already  do  in  the  Joint  Convention17  reports,  and  to  submit  it  under  Article  14(1)  of  the 
Directive, as required. 

3.1.2  Licence holders 

In line with the Directive’s requirement, licence holders are primarily responsible for the safe 
management  of  spent  fuel  and  radioactive  waste  generated  in  the  Member  States’  territory. 
Member  States’  reports  generally  provided  a  summary  of  the  applicable  legal  requirements 
without  further  information  on  how  those  requirements  are  implemented  in  practice, 
especially  regarding  safety  assessments  and  the  human  and  financial  resources  of  license 
holders. 

On periodic safety reviews and safety improvements as well as on safety assessments during 
the licensing process18, almost half of the Member States provided information achievements 
during the reporting period. 

Almost no information was provided on the actual human and financial resources of licence 
holders beyond indicating the related legal requirements. In some cases, generic information 
was provided on how competence and skills are managed. Member States should cover these 
aspects in the next reporting cycle. 

3.1.3  Expertise and skills 

Few changes or developments were reported compared to the situation 3 years prior. Nearly 
all Member States have established legal requirements to ensure the training and education of 
staff of all parties involved. However, around one third of the Member States did not include 
information or did not provide examples on the implementation of such requirements. 

Member  States  with  nuclear  power  programmes  have  generally  more  developed  formal 
arrangements  for  education,  training,  and  research.  In  general,  the  training  and  education 
received  by  the  regulatory  authority  is  better  defined  than  that  of  operators  and  other 
stakeholders/licensees. 
reviews, 
International  exchange  of  experience 
workshops,  conferences,  visits,  and  similar  events  have  been  recognised  as  useful  tools  for 
training  and  educating  staff,  particularly  for  Member  States  without  nuclear  power 
programmes. 

through  peer 

Research  and  development  activities  are  reported  by  slightly  less  than  half  of  the  Member 
States, and by the rest only in generic terms or not at all. 

3.1.4  Financial resources 
Nearly  all  Member  States19  provided  information  on  the  cost  assessment  of  their  national 
programmes. The estimates vary widely in terms of methodology, assumptions, completeness 
of data, scope and time frames. 

Half of the Member States – mainly those with nuclear power programmes – recently updated 

17  

Joint  Convention  on  the  Safety  of  Spent  Fuel  management  and  on  the  Safety  of  Radioactive 
Waste Management. 

18   Articles 7(2), 7(3) of the Directive. 
19   Only two Member States (having only institutional waste) did not provide any cost assessment.  

10 

 
 
their cost estimates. However, those updates were not always complete and did not reflect the 
cost  developments  in  the  recent  years.  It  is  important  to  periodically  review  and,  when 
necessary, update the cost estimates as they form the basis for providing sufficient funding for 
implementing the national programmes. 

In the first progress report, the estimated total cost of radioactive waste management20 in the 
EU-27 was around EUR 250 billion, while in the second it was re-estimated at around EUR 
300 billion21. The current cost estimate is at the same level22. 

About half of the Member States provided information on the status of the funds for spent fuel 
and/or radioactive waste management although the level of detail varied23. Overall, very little 
information was reported on the performance of the funds. Member States are encouraged to 
regularly assess how their funds perform, so as to proactively react to any changes that may 
occur and ensure the timely adoption of corrective measures, if needed. 

Recognising the importance of this subject, in 2020, the Commission carried out a study24 on 
the methodologies in use for cost assessment, as well as the financing schemes in place and 
the  relationship  between  them.  The  study  identified  common  trends,  good  practices  and 
challenges for all Member States. Furthermore, in 2021, the Commission formally established 
the  group  of  experts  on  financial  aspects  of  nuclear  decommissioning  and  spent  fuel  and 
radioactive  waste  management  (short  name:  ‘Nuclear  Backend  Financial  Aspects  expert 
group’)25.  Through  its  work  programme,  the  group  of  experts  will  support  the  Commission 
and the Member States in financial assessment and modelling. Nonetheless, it is apparent that 
the  Directive  has  not  been  effective  as  regards  its  rules  that  aimed  to  create  conditions  for 
fully  ensuring  the  availability  of  adequate  financial  resources  for  spent  fuel  and  radioactive 
waste  management,  including  radioactive  waste  from  decommissioning  activities,  when 
needed.  

3.1.5  Transparency and public participation 

No  major  steps  or  developments  were  reported  by  the  Member  States,  except  for  France’s 
public  debate  on  the  fifth  National  Programme26.  The  national  reports  presented  mainly  the 
policy and legal framework regulating the transparency arrangements and provided little or no 
details  regarding  actual  implementation  or  practices.  The  major  channels  of  publicity 

20  

21  
22  

23  
24  

25  

26  

‘Estimated total  cost  of  radioactive  waste management’  means  the aggregated  total  cost  of  all 
the EU Member States’ national programmes during their full duration. 
These figures do not include cost estimates for the UK national programme. 
See  details  for  each  Member  State  in  the  SWD(2024)  123  on  Progress  of  Implementation  of 
Council  Directive  2011/70/Euratom.  However,  information  from  ongoing  infringement 
procedures has not been included. 
See Table 10 in SWD(2024) 123. 
European  Commission,  Directorate-General  for  Energy,  Methodologies  of  cost assessment  for 
radioactive waste and spent fuel management : an overview of the practices adopted in the EU, 
Publications Office, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2833/476584. 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-
groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3777 . 
https://www.asn.fr/l-asn-informe/dossiers-pedagogiques/la-gestion-des-dechets-
radioactifs#plan-national-de-gestion-des-matieres-et-dechets-radioactifs 

11 

 
 
continued to be web sites, reports, media, etc. Typically, regulatory authorities carry out these 
activities, though in some Member States national legislation also creates obligations towards 
the  licence  holders.  Over  two  thirds  of  the  Member  States  consult  the  public  as  part  of  the 
environmental  impact  assessment  as  a  precondition  for  issuing  licences  for  nuclear  and 
radioactive waste management installations. 

The  Commission  reiterates  the  importance  of  implementing  the  transparency  and  public 
participation  requirements  effectively,  including  providing  information  on  the  progress  of 
implementation  in  practice  in  the  next  reporting  cycle.  The  importance  of  appropriate  key 
performance  indicators  has  been  largely  disregarded  in  reporting.  This  indicates  that  the 
Directive was not effective in ensuring fully transparent communication on how the national 
programmes were implemented. 

3.1.6 

Infringements 

In  relation  to  the  pending  issues  described  above,  the  Commission  had  to  initiate  several 
procedures against some Member States on the transposition of the Directive. 

By the time of this report, two procedures27 were on-going, while the Commission had closed 
six28 infringement cases before the end of the reporting cycle. 

3.2  National programmes 

The Directive sets out a key requirement for Member States to establish and maintain national 
policies  on  safe  and  long-term  management  of  spent  fuel  and  radioactive  waste.  These 
policies  must  abide  by  general  principles29  and  should  be  translated  into  concrete  plans  of 
actions in each Member State’s national programme30. 

3.2.1  State of progress 

The Commission noted continuous progress in developing and adopting national programmes. 
By  now,  all  27  Member  States  have  established  their  national  programme  and,  during  the 
reporting period, one third of them have been updated. 

Some  Member  States  have  adopted  national  programmes  detailing  activities  only  for  a 
specific timeframe, mostly covering a 5 to 10-year period. However, two such Member States 
did not adopt updated versions in time. To avoid such situations in the future, Member States 
are  encouraged  to  optimise  planning  and  adoption  processes  to  ensure  continuity  of  the 
national programme. 

In most cases, updating programmes have resulted in milestones being pushed to a later time. 
The Commission would like to recall that Member States are required to notify any significant 
change  to  the  national  programmes  in  line  with  Article  13(1)  of  the  Directive,  including 
changes to implementation schedules. 

27   Against Croatia, and Latvia. 
28   Against Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Portugal and the United Kingdom. 
29   Article 4 of the Directive. 
30   Articles 11 and 12 of the Directive. 

12 

 
 
Generally, the implementation of most Member States’ national programmes was impacted by 
delays up to 5 years, due in part to lengthier than expected licensing procedures, changes in 
the policy or political decisions. In some other cases, where no clear timelines were reported 
or  a  long-term  strategy  was  not  defined,  it  was  difficult  to  assess  the  timeliness  of  the 
programme’s  implementation.  Such  delays  may  imply  a  transfer  of  burden  to  future 
generations.  However,  they  were  not  linked  to  any  safety  issues,  as  currently  the  national 
frameworks ensure proper management of radioactive waste and spent fuel. 

3.2.2  Main plans and policies 

Overall, almost all of the national programmes cover all types of radioactive waste and spent 
fuel generated in the Member States’ territories, but only one third of them indicate concrete 
plans  from  generation  to  disposal.  While  most  of  the  Member  States  plan  to  dispose  of 
radioactive  waste  and/or  spent  fuel  in  their  territory,  not  all  of  them  have  made  their  final 
decision and some still consider the possibilities of common multinational disposal. 

Most  Member  States  without  nuclear  power  programmes  and  some  Member  States  with 
nuclear  power  programmes  are  considering  exporting  radioactive  waste  for  disposal. 
However, the Commission has observed no significant development in practice in recent years 
towards  a  shared  solution  for  disposal.  It  is  worth  noting  that  national  frameworks  prohibit 
importing radioactive waste in several Members States, including some which are considering 
shared solutions31. 

Similarly to the previous reporting cycle, there is still little information on how institutional 
radioactive  waste32  is  managed,  therefore  this  report  covers  that  aspect  of  radioactive  waste 
management in broad terms only. 

3.2.3  Monitoring progress towards implementation 

According  to  Article  12(1)(g)  of  the  Directive,  national  programmes  must  include  key 
performance  indicators  (KPIs)  to  monitor  progress  towards  their  implementation.  Far  from 
being  a mere formal  requirement, KPIs  are  an essential  element  of the national  programme, 
enabling  the  monitoring  of  progress  towards  its  implementation,  the  implementation  of  the 
national  policy  and,  ultimately,  towards  achieving  the  Directive’s  overarching  objective  of 
avoiding undue burdens on future generations. Moreover, since Member States, under Article 
14  of  the  Directive,  should  report  them  to  the  Commission  every  3  years,  KPIs  are  also  a 
useful tool for ensuring transparency for the public. 

Since the first progress report the Commission has been identifying the definition of KPIs in 
line  with  the  above-mentioned  requirement  as  one  of  the  main  implementation  challenges 
related  to  the  national  programmes.  In  its  second  report,  the  Commission  highlighted  that 
further  effort  was  still  needed  from  the  Member  States  to  fully  comply  with  the  KPI 
requirement, stressing that over a third of the Member States did not define KPIs in line with 
the Directive.  

To support Member States in addressing this major compliance issue the Commission funded 

31  
32  

See Table 1 in SWD(2024) 123. 
Institutional waste is radioactive waste originating from medical and industrial applications, and 
research institutions. 

13 

 
 
a study33 on KPIs, which was presented to and discussed with the Member States’ regulatory 
authorities and relevant stakeholders. 

Little progress on the KPIs has been observed since the last report. Most of the Member States 
have reported progress made in implementing the national programmes, mainly by describing 
what  has  been  achieved  since  the  last  report,  and  many  Member  States  have  updated  their 
milestones  and  timeframes.  However,  the  Member  States  did  not  use  KPIs  to  present  the 
status of implementation of their national programmes in their national reports. 

Slovenia  updated  its  national  programme  in  January  2023,  including  bringing  KPIs  in  line 
with the Directive’s requirements and setting a benchmark for good practices. 

3.2.4  Research, development and demonstration activities 

The situation remained largely unchanged since the last report in this area. The Member States 
provided  minimal  information  on  their  research,  development  and  demonstration  activities 
planned  to  support  the  implementation  of  their  national  programmes.  Six  Member  States, 
mainly having large- and medium-sized nuclear programmes, provided details and presented 
the progress made34. Other Member States presented the research and development activities 
and  timeframes  for  final  disposal  in  very  general  terms,  and  many  Member  States  have  not 
reported any details or confirmed that they do not have a specific research programme. 

The  research  programmes  are  at  various  stages  of  implementation,  and  progress  typically 
correlates with the advancement of the national radioactive waste and spent fuel management 
programmes.  

Many Member States with small inventories rely on participating in, or following the results 
of  international  programmes  or  projects  that  are  in-line  with  their  radioactive  waste 
management needs, with a few of them planning to develop their own research, development 
and  demonstration  activities.  Member  States  also  generally  presented  the  international 
activities they participate in, providing lists of projects without a clear or explicit link to the 
implementation of the national programmes. Therefore, the Commission invites the Member 
States  to  provide  information  on  the  expected  impact  those  projects  have  on  the 
implementation of national programmes in their future reporting. 

3.2.5 

Infringements 

In  relation  to  the  pending  issues  described  above,  the  Commission  had  to  initiate  several 
procedures against some Member States on the compliance of national programmes with the 
requirements of the Directive. 

In early 2024 18 procedures35 are on-going. The Commission had closed three36 infringement 
cases before the end of the reporting cycle. 

33  

34  

European  Commission,  Directorate-General  for  Energy,  Study  on  key  performance  indicators 
for monitoring implementation of national programmes on safe and long-term management of 
spent fuel and radioactive waste: final report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2833/052078. 
Research,  development  and  demonstration  activities  are  usually  carried  out  by  the  national 
waste management organisation and by research organisations. 

35   Against  Austria,  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Czechia,  Germany,  Denmark,  Estonia,  Greece,  Spain, 

14 

 
 
 
3.3  Self-assessment and international peer reviews 

The  Member  States  must  arrange  self-assessments  of  their  national  framework,  competent 
regulatory authority, national programme and its implementation. They also must arrange an 
international peer review of their national framework, competent regulatory authority and/or 
national programme at least every 10 years37.  

The  Member  States  have  generally  ensured  compliance  with  this  requirement  by  means  of 
services provided by the IAEA, such as the IRRS (Integrated Regulatory Review Service) and 
ARTEMIS  (Integrated  Review  Service  for  Radioactive  Waste  and  Spent  Fuel  Management, 
Decommissioning  and  Remediation),  which  have  been  developed  with  the  support  of  the 
Commission. 

The  reporting  period  coincided  with  the  2020-2021  COVID-19  pandemic,  which  has 
significantly disrupted the ARTEMIS peer-review schedule. Despite this setback, all Member 
States  conducted  the  ARTEMIS  peer-review  by  the  end  of  2023  in  line  with  Article  14(3) 
requirements.  The  Commission  participated  in  the  missions  as  an  observer  and  followed  up 
the development of the ARTEMIS peer-review service. 

Similarly  to  the  first  and  second  reporting  cycles,  most  Member  States  have  provided 
information  on  self-assessments  and  international  peer  reviews  of  the  regulatory  authorities 
(IRRS). Two IRRS missions and three IRRS follow-up missions were carried out during the 
reporting period, and to date all EU Member States have carried out or planned IRRS review 
missions. 

The  Commission  already  noted  in  its  previous  report  that  although  in  most  Member  States 
IRRS  and  ARTEMIS  reports  are  publicly  available,  Member  States  need  to  notify  the 
outcomes of such reviews and their plans to address recommendations and suggestions to the 
Commission. 

4  CONCLUSIONS 

The Commission considers that radioactive waste and spent fuel were managed safely in the 
Member States in the reporting period. National programmes are in place across the EU and 
generally were established in a transparent and participative manner. For the largest share of 
radioactive waste safe solutions for management and disposal were pursued, as demonstrated 
by increasing amounts of disposed of volumes against decreasing amounts of stored volumes. 
The  system  of  self-assessments  and  international  peer  reviews  appeared  consistent  with  the 
needs and is driving updates and continuous improvement in waste management; it is worth 
remarking  that  this  is  best  practice  on  a  global  scale,  as  EU  Member  States  have  been  the 
main clients of the IAEA ARTEMIS peer review-mechanism thus far. 

However, the rate of addressing key challenges remained generally slow, and few changes can 
be reported in relation to the previous report (in several cases the national reports were almost 

Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. 

36   Against Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom. 
37   Article 14(3) of the Directive. 

15 

 
 
identical to the ones submitted in the previous reporting cycle). As the 10th anniversary of the 
transposition deadline of the Directive into national legislation has passed, overall, a general 
conclusion  can  be  drawn  that  the  transposition  and  implementation  of  the  Directive  in  the 
Member States have not to date fully achieved the Directive’s objectives for all categories of 
radioactive waste. This calls for a more thorough evaluation of the Directive’s effectiveness in 
ensuring responsible management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in the EU and 
avoiding the transfer of any undue burden to future generations. 

While  Finland,  France  and  Sweden  progressed  substantially  in  constructing  deep  geological 
repositories and maintained ambitious plans, several Member States still did not further define 
national  policies  for  the  long-term  management  of  all  their  radioactive  waste,  particularly 
intermediate-level  waste  and  high-level  waste.  Furthermore,  the  targets  set  in  some  national 
programmes are not sufficiently ambitious and envisage long implementation periods that risk 
burdening  future  generations.  Several  Member  States  keep  an  option  for  shared  disposal 
solutions  with  other  countries.  However,  this  may  lead  to  deferral  of  decisions  rather  than 
acceleration especially because of import bans in numerous Member States. 

Main  issues  to  address  are  programmes'  control  and  funding.  The  assessment  of  costs  is 
sometimes  out-of-date  or  not  comprehensive,  therefore  impacting  the  effectiveness  of 
financing schemes with a risk that they will not be sufficient to cover the costs. The Member 
States should also improve the use of KPIs in controlling and reporting on the progress made 
with the implementation. 

The Commission considers that Member States should accelerate the review and update of the 
national programmes, taking into account the outcomes of self-assessments and international 
peer reviews, and – at the same time – improving the quality of reporting on the programmes’ 
implementation regarding the aspects identified in this report. Member States should address 
these  issues  in  the  next  reporting  cycle.  At  the  same  time,  the  Commission  will  carry  out  a 
thorough reassessment of the current ENSREG guidelines38 setting out reporting requirements 
and establish more specific reporting criteria to support the efforts of the Member States. 

38  

ENSREG reporting guidelines for Member States  

16