-- Europe has launched a public consultation and a call for evidence to assess the effectiveness of the bloc's rules governing radioactive waste and spent fuel, as it prepares for a potential expansion of nuclear energy, the European Commission said on Monday.
The Commission said it had launched a 12-week open consultation alongside a four-week evidence-gathering exercise to evaluate the performance of the EU's Radioactive Waste Directive and Shipment Directive, which have been in force since 2011 and 2006, respectively.
The evaluation will examine how far the two directives have met their objectives of ensuring the safe and responsible management of radioactive waste and spent fuel across the bloc.
The EU's executive arm said the findings are expected to inform future policy initiatives and potential updates to the bloc's Euratom legislative framework.
Recently, the Commission released a report highlighting persistent implementation shortcomings across member states.
The shortcomings include the failure of some countries to define long-term national policies for managing all radioactive waste, insufficiently ambitious targets in national programs, and weaknesses in oversight and funding mechanisms.
The EU's evaluation is expected to provide a "robust evidence base" to improve existing rules and identify opportunities to streamline regulation and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens.
Nuclear energy is expected to play an increasingly important role in the EU's clean energy transition. The Commission's illustrative nuclear program projects that installed nuclear capacity in the bloc could increase by 2050, thereby generating additional volumes of radioactive waste and spent fuel.
The Commission said that effective decommissioning and responsible waste management are essential to maintaining safety and securing public support for nuclear energy, as interest in new nuclear technologies gains momentum.