Abstract

The regulation of nuclear issues dates back as far as the foundation of the European Community. The Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was one of the founding treaties of the European Communities next to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and entered into force on January 1, 1958. Since then and unlike the other founding treaties, the EURATOM Treaty has never been significantly amended or reformed. Why?

To be able to answer this question, one must look at the legal conditions and political key messages for the setting up of the EURATOM Community. The latter not only from within Europe but also from abroad. Due to the Members States’ original compromise and the limits between what is controlled and regulated under the treaty and what remains in the discretion of the Member States, the EURATOM Treaty is clearly limited in its scope.

The EU has no competences in regulatory fields such as operational safety of nuclear power plants, management and safe disposal of radioactive waste, storage or disposal facilities and decommissioning of installations. All these crucial objectives remain the sole responsibility of national authorities and are co-guided by standards adopted at the international level, especially under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The EURATOM Treaty then remains as the only sectoral energy policy impeding the integration of policy towards a democratic energy Union. This is reflected by the European Parliament’s role being rather that of an opinion-giving onlooker than a co-decision maker in matters related to nuclear regulation.