What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Added:2. Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down over several years into annual instalments.

Added:3. Appropriations may be entered in the Union budget beyond 2034 to cover the expenses necessary and to enable the management of action not completed by the end of the Programme.

Added:4. The financial envelope referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the amounts of additional resources referred to in Article 5 may also be used for technical and administrative assistance for the implementation of the Programme, such as preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities, corporate information technology systems and platforms, information communication and visibility activities, including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union, and all other technical and administrative assistance or staff-related expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the Programme.

Added:Article 5

Added:Additional resources

Added:1. Member States, Union institutions, bodies and agencies, third countries, international organisations, international financial institutions, or other third parties, may make additional financial or non-financial contributions to the Programme. Additional financial contributions shall constitute external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(2), points (a), (d), or (e), or Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Added:2. Resources allocated to Member States under shared management may, at their request, be made available to the Programme. The Commission shall implement those resources directly or indirectly in accordance with Article 62(1), point (a) or (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Such resources shall be additional to the amount referred to in Article 4(1) of this Regulation. Such resources shall be used for the benefit of the Member State concerned. Where the Commission has not entered into a legal commitment under direct or indirect management for additional amounts thus made available to the Programme, the corresponding uncommitted amounts may, at the request of the Member State concerned, be transferred back to one or more respective source programmes or their successors.

Added:Article 6

Added:Alternative, combined and cumulative funding

Added:1. The Programme shall be implemented in synergy with other Union programmes. An action that has received a Union contribution from another programme may also receive a contribution under the Programme. The rules of the relevant Union programme shall apply to the corresponding contribution or a single set of rules may be applied to all contributions and a single legal commitment may be concluded. If the Union contribution is based on eligible costs, the cumulative support from the Union budget shall not exceed the total eligible costs of the action and may be calculated on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the documents setting out the conditions for support.

Added:2. Award procedures under the Programme may be jointly conducted under direct or indirect management by Member States, Union institutions, bodies and agencies, third countries, international organisations, international financial institutions, or other third parties (‘partners to the joint award procedure’), provided the protection of the financial interests of the Union is ensured. Such procedures shall be subject to a single set of rules and lead to the conclusion of single legal commitments. For that purpose, the partners to the joint award procedure may make resources available to the Programme in accordance with Article 5 of this Regulation, or the partners may be entrusted with the implementation of the award procedure, where applicable in accordance with Article 62(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. In joint award procedures, representatives of the partners to the joint award procedure may also be members of the evaluation committee referred to in Article 153(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Added:Article 7

Added:Implementation and forms of Union funding

Added:1. The Programme shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, under direct management or under indirect management with entities referred to in Article 62(1), point (c) of that Regulation.

Added:2. Union funding under the Programme may be provided in any form in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, in particular, prizes, procurement and non-financial donations.

Added:Article 8

Added:Eligibility

Added:1. Only activities implementing the objectives set out in Article 3 shall be eligible for Union funding. Compliance with those rules shall be duly monitored, and in the event of any irregularities, appropriate corrective measures shall be taken. Union funding under the Programme shall be limited to legal entities established in a Member State or in a country associated with relevant Union programmes, unless otherwise justified by duly substantiated security or technical necessity.

Added:2. The work programmes referred to in Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 may further specify the eligibility criteria set out in this Regulation or set additional eligibility criteria for specific actions.

Added:Article 9

Added:Co-financing rates

Added:The overall maximum Union co-financing rate applicable under the Programme shall be as close to 86% as possible. The remaining financing shall be provided by Lithuania and additional sources other than the Union budget.

Added:Article 10

Added:Work programme

Added:1. The Programme shall be implemented by work programmes referred to in Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Added:2. The work programmes shall reflect the applicable decommissioning plan that is to serve as the baseline for the programme monitoring and evaluation.

Added:Article 11

Added:Committee

Added:1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

Added:2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Added:3. Where the opinion of the committee is to be obtained by written procedure, that procedure shall be terminated without result when, within the time limit for delivery of the opinion, the chair of the committee so decides or a simple majority of committee members so requests.

Added:Article 12

Added:Repeal

Added:Regulation (EU) 2021/101 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2028.

Added:Article 13

Added:Transitional provisions

Added:1. This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of actions initiated under Regulation (EU) 2021/101, to which that Regulation shall continue to apply until their closure.

Added:2. The financial envelope for the Programme may also cover technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the Programme and the measures adopted under Regulation (EU) 2021/101.

Added:Article 14

Added:Entry into force and application

Added:This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Added:It shall apply from 1 January 2028.

Added:This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Added:Done at Brussels,

Added:For the Council

Added:The President

Added:ANNEX

Added:The following activities are covered under the specific objective set out in Article 3((3):

Added:(I) Dismantling of reactor shafts, while ensuring the highest standards of radiation protection for workers, the general public and the environment:

Added:(1) completion of dismantling and decontamination of top and bottom zones (called zones R1 and R2, respectively);

Added:(2) completion of Steam Drum Separators dismantling;

Added:(3) reactor cores (called zone R3):

Added:(a) dismantling technology engineered and licensed;

Added:(b) dismantling equipment installed and operational;

Added:(c) dismantling and decontamination of the reactor shafts central zone in accordance with the decommissioning plan; progress has to be measured by the quantity and type of materials removed as well as through earned value);

Added:(d) reactor waste interim storage facility in operation.

Added:▌ (Ia) Implementation of the building demolition programme. Progress made in respect of this objective is to be measured by the quantity of demolished buildings as well as through earned value.

Added:(II) The reorganisation of the Ignalina nuclear power plant (INPP) in order to enhance the efficiency of the decommissioning programme through improved organisation and the optimal use of human resources. In view of the scheduled dismantling activities and the outsourcing of the dismantling of reactor shaft central zones, targeted upskilling, reskilling and training measures shall be implemented to support the adaptation and redeployment of personnel. Where workforce adjustments due to outsourcing are considered, they shall only take place after the outsourcing has been implemented and shall be coupled with retraining and reskilling policies. Such adjustments shall not endanger the safe and effective conduct of the decommissioning process. Progress shall be measured with respect to specific Key Performance Indicators approved in the implementing work programmes.

Added:(III) Safe management of the decommissioning and legacy waste up to interim storage or to disposal (depending on the waste category), including the completion of the waste management infrastructure, and near surface repository. It has to be accomplished in accordance with the decommissioning plan, in its final revision. Progress has to be measured by the quantity and type of waste safely stored or disposed of, as well as through earned value.

Added:(IV) Downgrading of radiological hazards. Progress has to be measured through the safety assessments of the activities and the facility, identifying ways in which potential exposures could occur and estimating the probabilities and magnitude of potential exposures.