Brussels, 05 Dec 2003
Full text of Document 14946/03
Suite of documents 14946/03
No. Cion prop.: 5763/03 ATO 10 - COM(2003) 18 final
Subject: Adoption of a Council Directive on the control of high activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources
COMMON GUIDELINES
Time limit for consultation: 16 December 2003
1. On 24 January 2003, the Commission submitted a proposal for a Council Directive on the control of high activity sealed radioactive sources to the Council, based on Articles 31(2) and 32 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.
2. The European Parliament adopted its Opinion on 18 November 2003.
3. The Working Party on Atomic Questions, after extensive examination of the proposal, has reached agreement on the text of the proposed Directive.
4. The Permanent Representatives Committee could therefore invite the Council to adopt, as an "A" item, the Directive set out in document 10487/03 ATO 133 OC 405 as revised by the legal linguists, and to enter into its minutes the statements contained in the Annex to this note.
Statements for the Council minutes
1. Regarding recital 8a, in relation with Article 6 (g):
"The Council and the Commission confirm that cases of unintentional exposure mean cases such as those resulting from a source or a part of the source being jammed and left in an unshielded position, from a malfunction, loss of integrity or deliberate defeat of the safety and control systems, or from any event causing leakage of the source or other incidents or accidents such as mechanical stresses or fire affecting the source."
2. Regarding Article 9(3):
"The Commission confirms that the need to regulate the question of export and import of undeclared radioactive contaminated metallic material which may contain orphan sources may be addressed in the framework of discussions on an amendment to Council Directive 92/3/EURATOM on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Member States and into and out of the Community."
3. Regarding the legal basis:
"Germany would like to make it clear that its agreement to the use of Articles 31 and 32 of the Euratom Treaty as the sole legal basis for the Directive on the control of high-activity sealed radioactive sources, Articles 3 and 10 of which for the first time lay down financial provisions on the basis of the Euratom Treaty, without including Article 203 of the Euratom Treaty as an additional legal basis, cannot be taken as a precedent for acceptance of the Commission's intended use of Articles 31 and 32 of the Euratom Treaty as the sole legal basis for the draft Directives on nuclear safety and on management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste."