What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

8 unchanged paragraphs

on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation and Decommissioning for the period 2028-2034 and repealing Regulations (Euratom) 2021/100 and (Euratom) 2021/948

(COM(2025)0598 – C100262/2025 – 2025/0265(CNS))

(Special legislative procedure – consultation)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2025)0598),

– having regard to Article 203 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C100262/2025),

– having regard to the budgetary assessment by the Committee on Budgets,

– having regard to Rule 84 of the Rules of Procedure,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A100000/2026),(A10-0196/2026),

5 unchanged paragraphs

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, in accordance with Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the Commission proposal;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

Removed:Recital 6 a (new): (6a) The Instrument's external component should also promote international cooperation based on conventions on nuclear safety and radioactive waste management, encouraging partner countries to become parties to those conventions and allowing for IAEA-assisted periodic peer reviews of their national systems by well-respected international nuclear energy agencies. These peer reviews provide an external assessment of the state-of-play and challenges in nuclear safety in third countries, thereby informing the programming and prioritisation of high-level Union support.

Added:2025/0265 (CNS)

Removed:IAEA-assisted peer reviews can be a useful tool to guide the programming and prioritization of Union support through the external component of this instrument.

Added:Proposal for a

Removed:Recital 19 a (new): (19a) The European Parliament should be informed regularly by the Commission about the activities implemented under this Regulation.

Added:COUNCIL REGULATION

Removed:It is useful for the sake of transparency and interinstitutional cooperation that the European Parliament is regularly informed.

Added:establishing the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation and Decommissioning for the period 2028-2034 and repealing Regulations (Euratom) 2021/100 and (Euratom) 2021/948

Removed:Recital 27: (27) Considering that the peaceful uses of nuclear energy continue to develop, the Instrument should be fit to carry out activities in emerging fields related to nuclear safety and emergency preparedness and response, for instance by contributing to the safety of small and modular reactors and radiological protection in new radiological medical applications. When carrying out such activities, the interest of the Union and its competitiveness should be taken into account to prevent Union funds from supporting the licensing process of non-European technologies.

Added:THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Removed:By adding the possibility of carrying out activities in emerging fields, a risk exists of using the EU budget for financing the licensing process of non-European new technologies, such as Small and Advanced Modular Reactors. This risk should be mitigated by including a "European interest" criterion in the funding decisions.

Added:Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 203 thereof,

Removed:Recital 32: (32) The most efficient use of available resources can be achieved through coherence and complementarity between the Union’s external financing instruments, as well as through the creation of synergies with other Union policies and programmes such as the Euratom research and training programme. In order to maximise the impact of combined interventions to achieve a common objective, this Regulation should allow for the combination of funding with other Community and Union programmes, provided that the contributions do not cover the same costs.

Added:Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Removed:The Euratom Research and Training programme being the main programme applicable for nuclear research, it seems useful to specifically mention it in the recital.

Added:Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Removed:Recital 34: (34) The Commission has concluded that the best option to satisfy requirements stemming from Article 5(1), point (f), and Article 7 of Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom is to pursue a strategy combining decommissioning and radioactive waste management activities while initiating the discussions between the JRC and host Member States regarding a potential transfer of the decommissioning and spent fuel and radioactive waste management liabilities in the case of mutual agreements between the Commission and the host Member States. The JRC should provide for and maintain adequate resources to fulfil its obligations with respect to decommissioning and the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management. At the same time, the Commission and the JRC should proactively develop and propose innovative legal and financial instruments capable of addressing the long-term uncertainties associated with waste management, with a timescale of several decades, to the host Member States.

Added:Whereas:

Removed:Transferring liability of nuclear waste is a very complex process that requires innovative financial instruments that have not been developed yet by the JRC. Developing such instruments would help reassure host Member States and facilitate future transfer agreements.

Added:(1) The purpose of this Regulation is to establish the rules and the procedures for the nuclear safety cooperation and decommissioning activities carried out by the European Atomic Energy Community (‘the Community’) under the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation and Decommissioning (the ‘Instrument’).

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point a: (a) to support the decommissioning plan and to carry out the activities in accordance with the national law of the host Member State for the dismantling and decontamination of the Commission’s nuclear installations at the JRC sites, to carry out the safe management of associated radioactive waste and, where appropriate, to prepare the optional transfer of the related nuclear liabilities from the JRC to the host Member State, including by developing and proposing innovative legal and financial instruments capable of addressing the long-term uncertainties associated with waste management, with a timescale of several decades, to the host Member States;

Added:(2) In order to maintain and promote the continuous improvement of nuclear safety and the regulation thereof, the Council adopted Directive 2009/71/Euratom. That Directive and the high standards of nuclear safety, radiation protection, and radioactive waste and spent fuel management implemented in the Community are examples to be used in order to encourage partner countries to adopt similar high standards.

Removed:Transferring liability of nuclear waste is a very complex process that requires innovative financial instruments that have not been developed yet by the JRC. Developing such instruments would help reassure host Member States and facilitate future transfer agreements.

Added:(3) The Community and its Member States are contracting parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety adopted on 17 June 1994 and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management adopted on 5 September 1997.

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2: The transfer referred to in the first subparagraph, point (a), shall be voluntary for any host Member State and subject to a bilateral agreement concluded between the Commission and the host Member State. That bilateral agreement shall stipulate that all costs of the decommissioning of the Commission’s nuclear installations at the JRC sites and storage of the associated radioactive waste are to be paid by the Community and shall fully comply with Directive 2011/70/Euratom. The negotiation between the Commission and the host Member State shall be concluded within two years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation. With a view to concluding such agreements, the Commission and the JRC should develop and propose innovative legal and financial instruments capable of addressing the long-term uncertainties associated with waste management, with a timescale of several decades, to the host Member States.

Added:(4) The Member States are parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), concluded a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and signed an Additional Protocol to that agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Removed:Transferring liability of nuclear waste is a very complex process that requires innovative financial instruments that have not been developed yet by the JRC. Developing such instruments would help reassure host Member States and facilitate future transfer agreements.

Added:(5) Since the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (‘the Euratom Treaty’) covers both internal and external policies and provides for synergies between the two, this Instrument has two components addressing respectively external and internal activities.

Removed:Article 3 a (new): Article 3a / Consistency, synergies and complementarity / In implementing this Regulation, consistency, synergies and complementarity with other Programmes of Union external action, other relevant Union policies and legislative acts such as the Directives 2009/71/Euratom, 2011/70/Euratom and 2013/59/Euratom, Union goals and values and Programmes such as the Euratom research and training programme, as well as policy coherence for development shall be ensured.

Added:(6) The Instrument’s external component should support activities in European and international nuclear safety cooperation, building on the actions previously supported under Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/948. The external component is consistent with and complements the external action supported under Regulation (EU) 202X/XXXX [Global Europe].

Removed:Synergies with other Union policies are essential and need to be emphasised. The Euratom Research and Training programme being the main programme applicable for nuclear research, it seems useful to specifically mention it in the recital.

Added:(6a) The Instrument's external component should also promote international cooperation based on conventions on nuclear safety and radioactive waste management, encouraging partner countries to become parties to those conventions and allowing for periodic peer reviews of their national systems by well-respected international nuclear energy agencies, with the assistance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These peer reviews provide an external assessment of the state-of-play and challenges in nuclear safety in third countries, thereby informing the programming and prioritisation of high-level Union support.

Removed:Article 6 a (new): Article 6a / The Commission shall ensure that relevant information on nuclear safety measures supported by the Instrument is made available to the European Parliament. / Third countries cooperating under this Instrument shall ensure that relevant information on nuclear safety measures supported by the Instrument, as well as on nuclear safety standards more generally, is made available to the public, with particular attention to local authorities, populations, workers and stakeholders near nuclear installations. This includes ensuring that competent regulatory authorities and licence holders provide information within their respective responsibilities, in line with applicable legislation and international instruments, without prejudice to overriding interests such as security.

Added:(7) The Instrument’s internal component should support activities in the area of the Commission’s decommissioning and management of radioactive waste (the JRC decommissioning and waste management programme), addressing the Commission’s nuclear liabilities coming from past nuclear research performed at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) sites, namely JRC-Geel in Belgium, JRC-Karlsruhe in Germany, JRC-Ispra in Italy and JRC-Petten in the Netherlands, building on the actions previously supported under Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/100.

Removed:It is crucial to ensure transparency of the actions of the Commission and third countries under this Instrument for the sake of nuclear safety transparency and public trust.

Added:(8) Programme evaluations have shown that the complex Union funding architecture is a factor hindering the impact of the Union budget, due to administrative burden, which should be reduced, where possible. Therefore, the activities carried out in the field of international nuclear safety cooperation and decommissioning of JRC nuclear research facilities under Regulations (Euratom) 2021/100 and (Euratom) 2021/948 should be regrouped to be governed by a single legal act.

Removed:Article 10 a (new): Article10a / Coordination with third countries and international organisations / The Commission shall coordinate its cooperation with third countries and with international organisations pursuing similar objectives, in particular the IAEA and the OECD through the Nuclear Energy Agency. This coordination will enable the Community and the organisations concerned to avoid any duplication of actions and funding in relation to third countries. The Commission shall also involve the competent authorities of Member States and European operators in the fulfilment of its task.

Added:(8a) Such simplification should be accompanied by enhanced transparency, comprehensive and up-to-date strategic planning and reinforced monitoring and oversight of the implementation of the Instrument.

Removed:Coordination with international organisations such as the IAEA and the OECD through the Nuclear Energy Agency is essential to avoid duplication of actions and funding and to ensure coherence with international standards. Involving the competent authorities of Member States and European operators further enhances the effectiveness, credibility and impact of Union support by drawing on existing expertise and experience.

Added:(9) The general objective of the Instrument is to contribute in the Union interest to a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection, safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, decommissioning and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear materials. The instrument should also contribute to strengthening regulatory capacity, transparency and accountability.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 4: 4. Partner countries seeking to cooperate with the Community on nuclear safety, shall be active parties to 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 other relevant conventions or have taken steps demonstrating a firm commitment to accede to such conventions. In the case of active co-operation, that commitment shall be evaluated annually taking into account National Reports and other documents on the implementation of relevant Conventions. On the basis of such an evaluation, a decision shall be taken with regard to the continuation of the cooperation. In an emergency, flexibility shall, on an exceptional basis, be shown in the application of those principles.

Added:(10) This Regulation also aims to provide increased flexibility and simplification in the programming approach, including among aid modalities and eligible entities, to respond to unpredicted needs as identified across evaluations and consultations under Regulation (Euratom) 2021/948.

Removed:It is necessary to evaluate the commitments made by partner countries and to condition the continuation of this cooperation to ensure that these commitments are effectively respected and implemented.

Added:(11) Cooperation provided by the Community under this Regulation is not aimed at promoting nuclear energy in partner countries.

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 8 a (new): 8a. The actions financed do not go against the interest of the Union and its competitiveness.