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ENSREG was created in 2008 and has led to a political
consensus on European Directives concerning nuclear
safety in June 2009, followed by spent fuel management
and waste in July 2011. This institution also took part in
a process to revise the Nuclear Safety Directive proposed
by the European Commission in 2013, following on from
the review further to the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
Each safety regulator then provided technical advice
to its government responsible for the negotiations in
Brussels, until its revision on 8th July 2014.
ENSREG also played a key role in initiating, performing
and defining the conclusions of the stress tests. It is now
responsible for the follow-up to this unique exercise, in
particular for the implementation of the national action
plans with a view to application of the recommendations
defined in 2012. For performance of the stress tests,
ENSREG relied on the specifications drafted byWENRA.
WENRA was created in 1999 to act as the technical
support organisation for ENSREG. It is an association
specifically for the heads of the safety regulators, basing
its work on experience sharing by safety regulators with
a view to harmonising safety rules for reactors andwaste
management facilities.
In the field of radiation protection, theHERCA association
has been a part of the European scene since 2007 and
benefits from a number of advantages: regular meetings
between the heads of radiation protection authorities
outside any formal institutional framework, the desire to
harmonise national practices and to increase European
cooperation in the field of radiation protection.
of nuclear power and mitigating their consequences
2
should they occur. These conventions are based on the
principle of a voluntary undertaking on the part of the
States (who alone remain responsible for the facilities
situated on their territory) and entail no sanctions in the
event of any failure tomeet their obligations. France is a
contracting party to these conventions, with IAEA being
the depository and acting as secretary.
Finally, ASN collaborates with numerous countries
under bilateral agreements, which can be governmental
agreements (more particularly with neighbouring
countries) or administrative arrangements. Bilateral
relations allow direct exchanges on topical subjects
and the rapid implementation of cooperationmeasures.
They also prove to be extremely useful in the event
of emergency situations, hence the aim of increased
interactions with our European neighbours.
In short, ASN’s international actions can be divided into
four parts, as presented in the diagram below.
1.1 Giving priority to Europe
Europe is the priority of international action by ASN,
which thus aims to contribute to building two hubs,
one for nuclear safety and the safe management of waste
and spent fuel and the other for radiation protection.
With regard to nuclear safety, ASN contributes to two
major institutions for European harmonisation: ENSREG
and WENRA.
2. . The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident
(signed in 1986), the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a
Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (signed in 1987),
the Convention on Nuclear Safety (signed in 1994) and the Joint
Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel management and the Safety
of Radioactive Waste Management (signed in 1997).
ASN ACTION
on the international stage
European Community part
EURATOM
ENSREG, WENRA, HERCA
Multilateral part
IAEA, NEA, MDEP, INRA,
UNSCEAR, ICRP
Conventions
Nuclear safety, safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste,
early notification of a nuclear accident, assistance
Bilateral part
Cooperation and exchange of information,
assistance, personnel exchanges
ASN action
on the international stage
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CHAPTER 07:
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015