Hearing at the EU Parliament

ENEN WAS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON “THE NEW NUCLEAR SAFETY DIRECTIVE” AT THE COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY, RESEARCH AND ENERGY (ITRE) OF THE EU PARLIAMENT ON 12 FEBRUARY 2014

AGENDA

EC-Parliament-final-program.pdf

Position document released by the Association notes-eu-hearing.pdf

Presentation at the Hearing  presentation-eu-hearing

The ENEN Association participated in the Hearing on the new Nuclear Safety directive at the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) in the European Union Parliament, represented by its President, Walter Ambrosini, who remarked the promotion of education, training and research in the nuclear field as an inescapable cross-border commitment not to be discontinued in any European Country.

ENEN defended the support to the Education and Training in the nuclear field as a necessary contribution to assure the Nuclear Safety throughout Europe and beyond, together with the promotion of a healthy Nuclear Safety Culture. Being Nuclear Safety Culture defined by the IAEA as “that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance”.

ENEN remarked that professionals at any level, and even a wider community of stakeholders in nuclear safety, need appropriate education, training and information to acquire the knowledge, skills and personal attitudes that are needed to behave according to this paradigm, useful also for other technologies besides Nuclear.

The EUROPEAN UNION is the home of around 140 nuclear power plants, the production of the 28% of electricity by the nuclear energy source, the construction of new nuclear power plants going on in a number of EU Countries, the future needs for decommissioning and replacement of operating units with new designs and the need to treat and dispose of radioactive wastes from power and non-power applications of nuclear energy represent strong motivations to ask to all the European Countries not to discontinue but to enhance education and training efforts in thenuclear field, no matter the specific energy mix chosen by each Country in its sovereignty (e.g.,in the amended Article 7 of the Directive 2009/71/EURATOM).

The NUSHARE Project, as a service to the European citizens, aims at enhancing and better spreading of nuclear safety culture principles, in line with the emphasis on this aspect in the proposed amendments to the new “nuclear safety directive”.

ENEN accepts to undertake this highly visible and critical Education and Training endeavour in view of the benefits that it will bring to the safe development of nuclear energy in Europe.