CELEX: 51982PC0732(01)
Language: en
Date: 1982-12-03
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ADOPTING NEW PROVISIONS RELATING TO CHAPTER 6 " SUPPLIES " OF THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY

No C 330/4                           Official Journal of the European Communities                             16. 12. 82
                                                            II
                                                    (Preparatory Acts)
                                              COMMISSION
               Proposal for a Council Decision adopting new provisions relating to Chapter VI
                    (Supplies) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community
                           (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 8 December 1982)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                     reinforced and coordinated and, where appropriate,
COMMUNITIES,                                                    supplemented by direct action on the part of the
                                                                Community;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Atomic Energy Community, and in                        Considering that a modified role of the Community
particular Article 76 (2) thereof,                              in the matter of supply has to continue to ensure the
                                                                implementation of the tasks entrusted to it under
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,              Article 2 through a common supply policy based on
Having regard to the opinion of the             European        the principle of the unity of the market, providing for
Parliament,                                                     appropriate competences for the Community in
                                                                external relations and establishing the framework for
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                measures of solidarity and active intervention by the
Social Committee,                                               Community;
Considering that Article 2 of the Treaty imposes on             Considering that the pursuit of these aims entails, in
the Community inter alia the tasks of ensuring that all         order that they be met, the enactment of appropriate
users in the Community receive a regular and                    Treaty provisions to ensure that the rules hereby laid
equitable supply of ores and nuclear fuels and of               down are observed;
setting up a common market in these materials;
                                                                Considering that the Council has not confirmed the
Considering that in the application of Chapter VI of            original provisions of Chapter VI;
the Treaty the Community has to carry out these
tasks by the action of the Supply Agency to which is            Considering that pursuant to Article 76 of the Treaty
given the right of option on materials produced on              the Government of the French Republic made a
the territories of Member States and the exclusive              request, in July 1979, for amendment of this Chapter;
right to conclude contracts and entrusted, by the
                                                                Considering accordingly that it is appropriate to enact
exercise thereof, with the task of realizing the
                                                                such new provisions,
principle of equal access to resources and the pursuit
of a common supply policy;
                                                                DECIDES AS FOLLOWS:
Considering that the Treaty provides that seven years
after its entry into force the provisions of Chapter VI                                 Article 1
may be confirmed or, failing that, amended by the
                                                                The provisions of Chapter VI of Title Two of the
Council;
                                                                Treaty instituting the European Atomic Energy
Considering that the development of the nuclear                 Community shall be replaced by the provisions set out
industry since the entry into force of the Treaty no            in the Annex to this Decision.
longer requires that there be a monopoly of supply
vested in the Community;                                                                Article 2
 Considering that in the absence of such monopoly the           This Decision shall have effect three months after the
 policies of the persons and undertakings concerned as           date of publication thereof in the Official Journal of
well as those of the Member States need to be                    the European Communities.
 ---pagebreak--- 16.12.82                           Official Journal of the European Communities                           N o C 330/5
                                                          ANNEX
                                                       CHAPTER VI
                                                        SUPPLIES
                        Article 52                                                      Section II
The Community shall ensure that all users receive a                     t        International relations
regular and equitable supply of ores, source materials
and special fissile materials, hereinafter termed 'the                                  Article 55
materials', for civil and non-explosive purposes,
pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, by means            1.    The Community shall conclude international
of a common policy based on the principle of the               agreements concerning supplies from outside the
                                                               Community.
unity of the market and covering, in particular, the
conclusion by the Community of international                   2.     The negotiation of the agreements referred to in
agreements and the adoption of specific solidarity             this Article shall be conducted by the Commission in
measures.                                                      accordance with the procedure laid down in the
                                                               second paragraph of Article 101 in consultation with
A Supply Agency, hereinafter termed 'the Agency',              a special committee appointed by the Council to assist
shall contribute to the implementation of that policy.         it in that task.
                                                                                        Article 56
                                                               If no appropriate agreement between the Community
                        Section I
                                                               and the third State concerned exists, and subject to
                                                               the application of Article 103, the Commission shall
                The unity of the market                        authorize a Member State to conclude an agreement
                                                               for the purpose referred to in Article 55.
                        Article 53
                                                               The possibility for the Community to assume the
1.    Without     prejudice     to    the    international     rights and obligations arising from that agreement
agreements concluded by the Community, all                     must be ensured.
restrictions on the transfers of materials within the
Community and on imports from outside the                                               Article 57
Community are prohibited together with any
conditions governing use and storage within the                All exports of materials from the Community shall be
Community.                                                     subject to authorization by the Commission, which
                                                               shall verify whether those exports are in conformity
                                                               with the general interests of the Community.
2.    Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter
IX, the Commission shall lay down, in a Regulation,            Authorization by the Commission may be made
conditions relating to transfers of materials within the        subject to conditions.
Community and to imports from outside the
Community together with conditions governing use
and storage within the Community. The Commission                                       Section III
shall inquire into any request made by a Member
                                                                                   Solidarity measures
State within three months of its receipt. The said
Regulation can be referred to the Council by any
                                                                                        Article 58
Member State within a period of one month of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European            Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter IV,
Communities. The Council, within one month of the              persons and undertakings shall communicate to the
matter being referred to it, may repeal the                    Commission in good time all plans for the con-
Commission Regulation if acting by a qualified                 struction within the Community of any industrial-
majority or amend it if acting unanimously.                    scale nuclear installation for the processing of
                                                               materials which involve the formation of links with
                                                               other investors in the Community.
                        Article 54
                                                               After informing the persons and undertakings
Articles 85 to 90 of the Treaty establishing the               concerned of such plans in accordance. with proce-
European Economic Community shall apply to those               dures which, where necessary, shall safeguard their
restrictions, conditions and measures relating to              confidentiality, the Commission shall facilitate the
supplies which are not mentioned in Article 53 (1).            formation of appropriate links.
 ---pagebreak---   No C 330/6                          Official Journal of the European Communities                            16. 12.82
                           Article 59                                                  Article 63
  1.    Within the limits set by the budget, the               The Commission shall ensure that the measures
  Commission may give financial support to prospecting         referred to in this Section are implemented. For this
  programmes in the territories of Member States and           purpose, it may call upon the assistance of the
  the territories of third States.                             Agency.
  Every two years, the Commission shall submit to the
  Council and the Assembly a report on the state of                                    Section IV
  progress of such support and on the forecasts for the                           The Supply Agency
  four coming years, particularly with regard to the
• financial aspects.                                                                   Article 64
  2.    The Member States shall submit annually to the         1.    An Agency is hereby established and placed
  Commission a report on the development of                    under the supervision of the Commission, which shall
 prospecting and production, on probable reserves and          issue directives to it, possess a right of veto over its
  on investment in mining which has been made or is            decisions and appoint its Director-General and
 planned in their territories.                                 Deputy Director-General.
                                                               2.    Any act performed by the Agency in the exercise
                                                               of its functions may be referred by the parties
                           Article 60                          concerned to the Commission, which shall give a
                                                               decision thereon within one month.
  1.    The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a
 proposal from the Commission and after consulting                                     Article 65
 the Assembly, may decide to build up stocks and
 establish the levels thereof in accordance with the           1.    The Agency shall have legal personality and
 procedures that it lays down.                                 financial autonomy.
                                                               The Council shall lay down the statutes of the
 These stocks may receive financial support from the
                                                               Agency, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal
  Community in accordance with the same procedure.
                                                               from the Commission and after consulting the
  2.    The Council, acting in accordance with the             Assembly.
  conditions laid down in paragraph 1 above, may               The statutes may provide for a charge on transactions
 establish procedures which provide for the use of such        to defray the operating expenses of the Agency.
 stocks.
                                                               The statutes may determine the Agency's capital and
                                                               the terms upon which it is to be subscribed. The
                           Article 61                          major part of the capital shall always belong to the
                                                               Community and to the Member States. The contri-
  1.    In the event of an imbalance between supply and        butions to the capital shall be determined by common
 demand such as to affect regular and equitable                accord of the Member States.
 supplies to all users in the Community, the Council,          The statutes may be amended in accordance with the
 acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the         procedure described in the second indent of this
 Commission and after consulting the Assembly, may             paragraph.
 decide as follows:
  (a) on appropriate measures with regard to prices;           2.    An Advisory Committee for the Agency is
                                                               hereby established which shall be formed of rep-
  (b) on the geographical origin of the supplies;              resentatives of the producers and users and of highly
 (c) on the establishment of quotas for imports from           qualified experts in the field of nuclear supplies. The
      outside the Community.                                   statutes of the Agency shall determine the rules
                                                               governing the composition and procedures of the
 2.     The Commission shall make all appropriate
                                                               Committee.
 recommendations to the Member States, persons and
 undertakings with a view to promoting a balance                                       Article 66
 between supply and demand within the Community.
                                                               Pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter,          the
                                                               Agency shall:
                                                               (a) receive    communications      on    all   contracts
                           Article 62                              concerning supplies and verify whether they are
 Should the measures referred to in Article 61 above               in conformity with the provisions of this Chapter;
 prove to be inadequate, the Council, acting unani-            (b) make every effort to ensure transparency of the
 mously on a proposal from the Commission and after                market, in particular on the basis of the infor-
 consulting the Assembly, may adopt any other appro-               mation contained in such contracts and by
 priate measure.                                                   carrying out market surveys;
 ---pagebreak--- 16. 12.82                          Official Journal of the European Communities                           No C 330/7
(c) make every effort to improve the conditions of                                    Section V
     supply, in particular by doing its utmost to
                                                                                  Special provisions
     forestall situations of imbalance between supply
     and demand within the Community;                                                 Article 72
(d) fulfil the tasks assigned to it by the Commission,         1.   All contracts relating to supply which impede
     in particular by implementing the measures               the application of the provisions of Article 53, those
     adopted pursuant to Section III of this Chapter;         of an international agreement concluded by the
                                                              Community or those laid down pursuant to Section
(e) conclude the contracts referred to in Article 69.
                                                              III of this Chapter shall be automatically void.
                                                              2.     All contracts concerning supply shall be
                                                              communicated by the contracting parties to the
                         Article 67
                                                              Agency within 15 days of their having been
The Agency shall inform,          advise and assist the       concluded so that their conformity with the
producers and users.                                          provisions referred to in paragraph 1 above can be
                                                              verified.
It may promote concerted action intended to improve
                                                               3.    If a contract which has been communicated
supplies, in particular by forestalling situations of
                                                              pursuant to paragraph 2 above impedes the
imbalance between supply and demand within the
                                                               application of the provisions referred to in paragraph
Community.
                                                               1 above, the Commission shall make its comments to
It shall keep the Commission informed of its activities       those concerned within one month of receipt of the
and shall submit to it any appropriate suggestion.             contract.
                                                               If the objections of the Commission are not
                                                              withdrawn, the contract must be amended in
                                                               accordance with the comments of the Commission
                         Article 68                            within a period which it shall determine.
The Agency shall regularly carry out market surveys            4.    The contract shall be deemed to           be   in
concerning the requirements of the users within the            conformity with the provisions referred          to  in
Community for materials and the prospects of                   paragraph 1 above:
covering these requirements, in particular at
                                                               — if the Commission makes no comments,
Community level, and shall publish the results of such
surveys.                                                       — if the objections by the Commission have been
                                                                   satisfied,
                                                               — if the contract has been amended in accordance
                         Article 69                                with the Commission's comments.
The Agency shall conclude contracts concerning
 supplies if provision is made to this effect in an inter-                            Article 73
 national agreement concluded by the Community.                1.    In order to  ensure that the obligation deriving
                                                               from paragraph     2 of Article 72 is fulfilled, the
                                                               Commission may     decide to verify whether persons or
                                                               undertakings are    complying with the provisions of
                         Article 70                            that paragraph.
 1.    The Member States shall be responsible for              2.    On presentation of a document establishing
ensuring that the Agency may operate freely in their           their status, the officials responsible for verifying
territories.                                                   compliance may, to the extent necessary for the
                                                               accomplishment of their task:
2.     The Member States, persons and undertakings
shall regularly communicate to the Agency all the              (a) examine any books or other business document
information necessary to enable it to discharge its                together with the accounts;
duties, in particular that relating to nuclear                 (b) have copies of or extracts from such documents
programmes, the requirements for materials arising                 made available to them;
from them and the market situation.                            (c) request additional verbal information;
                                                               (d) enter any premises, sites and means of transport
                                                                   belonging to persons or undertakings.
                         Article 71
                                                               3.    The officials of the competent authority of the
A Commission Regulation shall establish the pro-               Member State within the territory of which
 cedures for applying this Section.                            compliance must be verified may, at the request of
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 330/8                       Official Journal of the European Communities                          16. 12.82
that authority or of the Commission, assist the                                    Article 75
Commission officials in the accomplishment of their
                                                           1.    The provisions of Chapter VIII shall not apply
tasks.
                                                           to materials which are processed within the
4.    Where a person or undertaking objects to a           Community where such materials have come from
verification operation decided on pursuant to              outside the Community and are then to be returned
paragraph 1 above, the Member State concerned shall        either to the original person or undertaking or to any
give every assistance to the Commission officials          other consignee outside the Community designated
responsible for verification of compliance which is        by such person or undertaking. However, these
necessary to the accomplishment of their task.             materials shall be subject in the territories of the
                                                           Member States to the safeguards laid down in
                      Article 74                           Chapter VII.
In the event of an infringement by persons or under-       2.    The Commission may exempt small quantities of
takings of the provisions of this Chapter, including       materials such as are normally used in research from
those of international agreements concluded by the         the application of this Chapter.
Community, the Commission my impose fines and
penalty payments.
                                                                                   Article 76
The Court of Justice shall have unlimited jurisdiction
                                                           On the initiative of a Member State or of the
in respect of proceedings instituted by persons and
                                                           Commission, the Council may, acting unanimously
undertakings against the sanctions imposed upon
                                                           on a proposal from the Commission and after
them pursuant to this Article.
                                                           consulting the Assembly, amend the provisions of this
The procedures for applying this Article shall be laid     Chapter. The Commission shall inquire into any
down in a Commission Regulation.                           request made by a Member State.