Division 1 General criteria and priorities

General criteria:

• Cooperation may cover all third countries worldwide.

• Priority should be given to accession countries and countries in the European Neighbourhood Area, preferably by using a country approach. The regional approach should be favoured for countries in other regions.

• Cooperation with high income countries is intended to facilitate relations between their respective stakeholders competent on nuclear safety and radiation protection. Such relations shall exclude any Community funding to high income countries through this Regulation. However, special measures may be undertaken, for example following a major nuclear accident, where necessary and appropriate.

• A common understanding and a reciprocal agreement between the third country and the Community should be confirmed through a formal request to the Commission, committing the respective Government.

• Third countries wishing to cooperate with the Community should fully subscribe to the principles of non-proliferation. They should also be parties to the relevant Conventions, within the framework of the IAEA, on nuclear safety, such as the 1994 Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, or have taken steps demonstrating a firm undertaking to accede to such Conventions. This commitment should be evaluated annually and, on the basis of that evaluation, a decision will be taken with regard to the continuation of the cooperation. Cooperation with the Community could be made conditional on accession to or the completion of steps towards accession to the relevant Conventions. In cases of emergency, flexibility should, exceptionally, be shown in the application of those principles.

• In order to ensure and to monitor compliance with the cooperation objectives of this Regulation, the third country concerned shall accept the evaluation of the actions undertaken. This evaluation should allow the monitoring and verification of compliance with the agreed objectives and could be a condition for continued payment of the Community contribution.

• Cooperation provided by the Union in the field of nuclear safety and safeguards under this Regulation is not aimed at promoting nuclear energy and should therefore not be interpreted as a measure to promote that energy source in third countries.

Priorities

In order to create the safety conditions necessary to eliminate hazards to the life and health of the public, cooperation shall be directed primarily at the nuclear regulators and their technical support organisations. The objective of such cooperation is to ensure their technical competence and independence and the reinforcement of the regulatory framework, in particular with regard to licensing activities, including the review and follow up of effective and comprehensive risk and safety assessments (‘stress tests’).

Other priorities of the cooperation programmes to be developed within the framework of this Regulation shall include:

• the development and implementation of responsible strategies and frameworks for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste;

• the decommissioning of existing installations, the remediation of former nuclear sites and legacy sites related to uranium mining, as well as the recovery and management of sunken radioactive objects and material at sea, when these constitute a danger to the public.

Cooperation with third countries' operators of nuclear power plants shall be considered in the specific cases set out in Articles 2 and 3, in particular in the framework of follow-up measures of a comprehensive risk and safety assessment. Such cooperation shall exclude supply of equipment.