Article 1 Subject matter and scope
This Regulation establishes, on the basis of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (the ‘Instrument’), which complements the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027. This Regulation lays down the objectives of the Instrument, its budget for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027, and the forms of and methods of implementation of Union funding.
Article 2 Objectives of the Instrument
1. The objective of the Instrument is to complement those nuclear cooperation activities that are financed under Regulation (EU) 2021/947, in particular in order to support the promotion of a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection, and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear materials in third countries, building on the activities within the Community of the relevant Euratom regulation framework, in line with this Regulation and as open as possible. Within this objective, the Instrument also aims to support the promotion of transparency in the nuclear-related decision-making processes of the authorities in third countries. 2. In accordance with paragraph 1, the Instrument has the following specific objectives: (a) the promotion of an effective nuclear safety and radiation protection culture, the implementation of the highest nuclear safety and radiation protection standards, and the continuous improvement of nuclear safety, including the promotion of transparency in decision-making processes of the authorities in third countries relating to the safety of nuclear installations; (b) responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste and the decommissioning and remediation of former nuclear sites and installations, including the promotion of transparency in decision-making processes of the authorities in third countries; (c) establishing efficient and effective safeguards for nuclear material in third countries.
Article 3 Coherence, consistency and complementarity
1. In implementing this Regulation, consistency, synergies and complementarity with Regulation (EU) 2021/947, other Union external action programmes, and other relevant Union policies and programmes, as well as policy coherence for development shall be ensured. 2. Where appropriate, other Union programmes may contribute to actions established under this Regulation, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. This Regulation may also contribute to measures established under other Union programmes, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs. 3. The rules of each Union programme contributing to actions established under this Regulation shall apply to its respective contribution to the action. The cumulative funding shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action and the support from the different Union programmes may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support.
Article 4 Budget of the Instrument
The financial envelope for the implementation of the Instrument for the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2027 shall be EUR 300 million in current prices.
Article 5 Policy framework
The association agreements, partnership and cooperation agreements, multilateral agreements and other agreements that establish a legally binding relationship between the Union and its partner countries, as well as European Council conclusions and Council conclusions, summit declarations, conclusions of high-level meetings with partner countries, communications from the Commission and joint communications from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, shall constitute the overall policy framework for the implementation of this Regulation.
Article 6 Multiannual indicative programmes
1. Cooperation under this Regulation shall be implemented on the basis of multiannual indicative programmes. 2. The multiannual indicative programmes shall aim to provide a coherent framework for cooperation between the Community and the third countries or regions concerned, in a manner consistent with the overall purpose and scope, objectives, principles and policy of the Community and based on the policy framework referred to in Article 5. 3. The multiannual indicative programmes shall constitute a general basis for the cooperation under this Regulation and shall set out the Community’s goals for cooperation, having regard to the needs of the countries concerned, the Community’s priorities, the international situation and the activities of the third countries concerned. The multiannual indicative programmes shall also indicate the added value of the cooperation and how to avoid duplication with other programmes and initiatives, in particular those of international organisations pursuing similar objectives and major donors. 4. Multiannual indicative programmes shall set out the priority areas selected for financing, the specific objectives, the expected results, the performance and result-oriented indicators and the indicative financial allocations, both overall and per objective. 5. Multiannual indicative programmes shall be based on a dialogue with the partner countries or regions which involves relevant stakeholders, especially governmental and regulatory authorities and the organisations designated by them, so as to ensure that the country or region concerned takes sufficient ownership of the process, and to encourage support for further development of nuclear safety at national level. 6. Where relevant after consultation of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (‘ENSREG’), the Commission shall adopt the multiannual indicative programmes in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2). 7. The Commission, in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2), shall revise and, if necessary, update the multiannual indicative programmes at least four years after their adoption.
Article 7 Annual action plans and measures
1. The Commission shall adopt annual action plans based on the multiannual indicative programmes. The Commission may also adopt special measures and support measures. In the event of unforeseen and duly justified needs, circumstances or commitments, the Commission may adopt special measures. Action plans and special measures shall specify for each third country or region the objectives pursued, the management procedures, projects to be financed, an indicative timetable, the expected results and main activities, the methods and, where appropriate, the status of the action plans and special measures for each third country or region, the budget and any associated support expenditures. Those action plans and measures shall contain a collection and summary description of each action to be financed, an indication of the amounts allocated for each action, an indicative implementation timetable and specific indicators for monitoring, evaluation and review of performance and results and any associated support expenditures, as appropriate. If appropriate, they shall include the results of any lesson learned from previous cooperation. 2. Action plans and measures shall be adopted by means of implementing acts adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2). 3. The examination procedure referred to in Article 15(2) shall not be required for: (a) special measures and support measures for which the Union funding does not exceed EUR 5 million; (b) technical amendments, provided that they do not substantially affect the objectives of the action plan or measure concerned, such as: (i) change of method of implementation; (ii) reassignments of funds between actions contained in an action plan; (iii) increases or reductions in the budget of action plans and special measures by no more than 20 % of the initial budget and not exceeding EUR 5 million. Once adopted in accordance with this paragraph, special measures and support measures as well as technical amendments thereto shall be communicated to the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation committee referred to in Article 15 within one month of their adoption. They shall also be communicated to the European Parliament. 4. On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency relating to the need for a swift response from the Community, the Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 15(3), shall adopt or amend the action plans or measures by means of implementing acts, which shall apply immediately.
Article 8 Support measures
1. Union financing may cover support expenditure for the implementation of the Instrument and for the achievement of its objectives, including administrative support associated with the preparation, follow-up, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities necessary for the implementation, as well as expenditure at headquarters for the administrative support needed for the Instrument, and to manage operations financed under this Regulation, including information and communication actions, and corporate information technology systems. 2. When support expenditure is not included in the action plans or special measures referred to in Article 7, the Commission shall adopt, where applicable, support measures. Union financing under support measures may cover: (a) studies, meetings, information, awareness-raising, training, preparation and the exchange of lessons learnt and best practices, publication activities and any other administrative or technical assistance expenditure necessary for the programming and management of actions, including fact-finding missions or remunerated external experts; (b) expenditures related to the provision of information and communication actions, including the development of communication strategies and corporate communication and visibility of the political priorities of the Union.
Article 9 Methods of cooperation
Financing under the Instrument shall be implemented by the Commission, as provided for by the Financial Regulation, either directly by the Commission itself or indirectly through any of the entities listed in point (c) of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation.
Article 10 Forms of and methods of implementation of Union funding
1. The Union funding under the Instrument may be provided in the forms laid down in the Financial Regulation, in particular: (a) grants; (b) procurement contracts for services or supplies; (c) remuneration of external experts; and (d) blending. 2. Support under the Instrument may also be implemented under the rules applicable to the External Action Guarantee established under Regulation (EU) 2021/947 (‘External Action Guarantee’) and contribute to the provisioning for the External Action Guarantee. The External Action Guarantee shall also support the operations on the basis of Council Decision 77/270/Euratom ( 17 ) . The provisioning rate for the operations of the External Action Guarantee to which the support under the Instrument contributes shall be 9 %. 3. The provisioning rates shall be reviewed every three years from the date of application of this Regulation.
Article 11 Eligible persons and entities
1. Priority shall be given to persons and entities from acceding countries, candidate countries, potential candidate countries and European Neighbourhood Policy countries. The participation in procurement, grant and prize award procedures for actions financed under the Instrument shall be open to international organisations as well as all legal entities that are nationals of and, in the case of legal persons, are also effectively established in the following countries or territories: (a) Member States, beneficiaries under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), and Contracting Parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area ( 18 ) ; (b) partner countries in the Neighbourhood area referred to in point (a) of Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/947; (c) developing countries and territories, as included in the list of Official Development Assistance recipients published by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (the ‘list of Official Development Assistance recipients’), which are not members of the G20, and overseas countries and territories as defined in Council Decision 2013/755/EU ( 19 ) ; (d) developing countries, as included in the list of Official Development Assistance recipients, which are members of the G20, and other countries and territories, when the relevant procedure takes place in the context of an action financed by the Union under this Regulation in which they participate; (e) countries for which reciprocal access to external funding is established by the Commission; (f) member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the case of contracts implemented in a least developed country or a highly indebted poor country, as included in the list of Official Development Assistance recipients; (g) third countries where the activities take place as provided for in the specific multiannual indicative programmes, action plans or measures. The reciprocal access referred to in point (e) of the first subparagraph may be granted, for a limited period of at least one year, whenever a country acknowledges eligibility on equal terms to entities from the Union and from countries eligible under this Regulation. The Commission shall decide on the reciprocal access and on its duration after consultation of the recipient country or countries concerned. 2. All supplies and materials financed under the Instrument may originate from the countries and under the respective conditions specified in paragraph 1. 3. The rules laid down in this Article shall not apply to and shall not create nationality-related restrictions for natural persons employed or otherwise legally contracted by an eligible contractor or, where applicable, subcontractor. 4. For actions jointly co-financed by an entity or implemented under direct management or indirect management with entities listed in points (c)(ii)–(viii) of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation, the eligibility rules of those entities shall also apply. 5. Where donors provide financing to a trust fund established by the Commission or through external assigned revenues, the eligibility rules in the constitutive act of that trust fund or in the agreement with the donor in the case of external assigned revenues shall apply. 6. In the case of actions financed under the Instrument and under another Union programme, eligible entities under any of those programmes shall be considered eligible. 7. The eligibility rules in this Article may be restricted with regard to the nationality, geographical location or nature of applicants, or origins of supplies and materials, where such restrictions are required on account of the specific nature and the objectives of the action and where they are necessary for its effective implementation. 8. Tenderers, applicants and candidates from non-eligible countries may be accepted as eligible in the case of urgency or the unavailability of services in the markets of the countries or territories concerned, or in other duly substantiated cases where application of the eligibility rules would make the realisation of an action impossible or exceedingly difficult. 9. In order to promote local capacities, markets and purchases, priority shall be given to local and regional contractors in cases where the Financial Regulation provides for an award on the basis of a single tender. In all other cases, the participation of local and regional contractors shall be promoted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation.
Article 12 Criteria applying to international nuclear safety cooperation
1. A common understanding and a reciprocal agreement between the third country and the Community shall, in principle, be confirmed through a formal request to the Commission. Such request shall bind the respective government. 2. Third countries wishing to cooperate with the Community shall be parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and shall have an Additional Protocol in force or shall have concluded a safeguards agreement with the IAEA. They shall fully subscribe to the Fundamental Safety Principles as stipulated in IAEA Safety Standards and shall be parties to the relevant conventions, such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, or have taken steps demonstrating a firm undertaking to accede to such conventions. In the case of active cooperation, that undertaking shall be evaluated annually, taking into account national reports and other documents on the implementation of relevant conventions. On the basis of that evaluation, a decision shall be taken with regard to the continuation of the cooperation. In cases of emergency, flexibility should, exceptionally, be shown in the application of those principles. 3. In order to ensure and monitor compliance with the cooperation-related objectives of the Instrument, the third country concerned shall accept the evaluation of the actions undertaken. That evaluation shall allow the monitoring and verification of compliance with the agreed objectives and may be a condition for continued payment of the Community contribution. 4. Cooperation provided by the Union in the field of nuclear safety and security under this Regulation is not aimed at promoting nuclear energy and shall therefore not be interpreted as a measure to promote such energy in third countries.
Article 13 Beneficiaries of cooperation
1. Cooperation under this Regulation shall be directed towards: (a) the competent regulatory authorities in the field of nuclear safety and the technical support organisations designated to them, to guarantee their technical skills, independence and the reinforcement of the regulatory framework in the relevant topics as regards nuclear safety and radiation protection; (b) the national agencies in charge of the safe management of radioactive waste, to allow for its categorisation, registration and accountability and safe storage; (c) any stakeholders of a state system of accounting for and control of nuclear material mission to establish efficient and effective safeguards; (d) nuclear power plant operators, in exceptional cases, limited to the implementation of the recommendation of the peer review of the risk and safety assessment (stress tests) conducted by ENSREG. 2. The objectives set out in Article 2(1) shall in particular be pursued through the following measures: (a) reinforcement of the regulatory framework procedures and systems; (b) establishment of effective arrangements for the prevention of accidents with radiological consequences, including accidental exposure, as well as the mitigation of such consequences should they occur; (c) development and implementation of strategies and frameworks, methodologies, technology and approaches, for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste; (d) support for ensuring the safety of nuclear installations and sites regarding practical protective measures designed to reduce existing radiation-related risks to the health of workers and of the general public; (e) development and implementation of strategies and frameworks for the decommissioning of existing nuclear installations, for the remediation of former nuclear sites and legacy sites related to uranium mining, and for the recovery and management of sunken radioactive objects and material at sea; (f) the establishment of the necessary regulatory framework, methodologies, technology and approaches for the implementation of nuclear safeguards, including for the proper accounting and control of fissile materials at state and operator level; (g) support for the training of personnel; (h) a limited provision of equipment in exceptional cases for nuclear power plant operators, as referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1. In specific and duly justified cases, measures concerning point (a) of the first subparagraph shall be implemented through cooperation between the operators and/or competent organisations of the Member States and third countries’ operators of nuclear installations as defined in Article 3(1) of Directive 2009/71/Euratom. Article 7(3) shall not apply to measures concerning point (h) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
Article 14 Monitoring, reporting and evaluation
1. Monitoring, reporting and evaluation shall be carried out in accordance with Article 41(2), (4), (5) and (6), and Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2021/947. 2. The achievement of the objective of the Instrument shall be measured on the basis of the following indicators and their impact on nuclear safety, radiation protection, and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear materials: (a) legal and regulatory acts prepared, introduced and/or revised taking into account the highest standards of nuclear safety; (b) design, concept or feasibility studies for the establishment of facilities in line with the highest standards of nuclear safety; and (c) results of nuclear safety, radiation protection, and efficient and effective safeguards improvement measures, based on the highest standards of nuclear safety, radiation protection and nuclear safeguards, including international peer review results, implemented in nuclear facilities.
Article 15 Committee
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. 3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 5 of that Regulation, shall apply.
Article 16 Information, communication and visibility, and derogation from visibility requirements
Information, communication and visibility related to the objective referred to in Article 3 and derogation from visibility requirements shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 46 and 47 of Regulation (EU) 2021/947, respectively.
Article 17 EEAS
This Regulation shall apply in accordance with Decision 2010/427/EU.
Article 19 Transitional provisions
1. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation of or the modification of actions initiated pursuant to Regulation (Euratom) No 237/2014, which shall continue to apply to those actions until their closure. 2. The financial envelope for the Instrument may also cover the technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the Instrument and the measures adopted pursuant to Regulation (Euratom) No 237/2014. 3. The financial envelope for the Instrument may cover expenditure related to the preparation of any successor to this Regulation. 4. If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the Union budget beyond 2027 to cover the expenses provided for in Article 6, to enable the management of actions not completed by 31 December 2027.
Article 20 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 January 2021.