COUNCIL OF Brussels, 20 May 2011

THE EUROPEAN UNION

10235/11

ENER 113
ATO 44

NOTE
from: General Secretariat of the Council
to: Delegations
Subject: A comprehensive risk and safety assessment ("stress tests") of nuclear plants

1. Following the disaster at Fukushima on 11 March there was not only a wave of solidarity and
assistance to Japan but also the rapid realisation that the lessons of the nuclear accident would
have to be drawn not only for Japan`s nuclear sector but worldwide. This triggered a series of
meetings and events (see Annex) and, as far as the EU political level is concerned, led to
convening an Extraordinary TTE Council on 21 March and to the European Council
addressing Japan and nuclear safety on 24-25 March and (doc. EUCO 10/11, section III)
calling for:

i. The review of the safety of all EU nuclear plants on the basis of a comprehensive risk
and safety assessment ("stress tests"), the scope and modalities of which should be
developed by ENSREG (European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group) and the
Commission in light of lessons learned from Fukushima, making full use notably of
WENRA`s (Western European Nuclear Regulators Association) expertise.
ii. The assessment will be conducted by independent national authorities and through peer
reviews, their outcomes and subsequent measures should be made public.
iii. The European Council will assess initial findings on the basis of a Commission report.

10235/11 JPD/sb 1
DG C EN
 iv. Similar stress tests should be carried out in neighbouring countries and worldwide.
v. The highest standards for nuclear safety should be implemented and improved in the EU
and promoted internationally.
vi. The Commission will review the legal and regulatory framework for the safety of
nuclear installations and propose by the end of 2011 any improvements that may be
necessary.

2. Responding to this call WENRA, at its meeting on 22-23 March, provided specifications for
the stress tests, followed by ENEF`s (European Nuclear Energy Forum) Safety Terms of
Reference on 4 May. On that basis as well as making use of its own work, notably on
transparency, ENSREG met on 12-13 May and, subject to some reservations, reached a fair
degree of agreement on the scope and modalities of the tests as reflected in:

− a declaration calling for the assessments of nuclear power plants to start on 1 June, to
cover extraordinary triggering events like earthquakes and flooding, and the
consequences of any other initiating events potentially leading to multiple loss of safety
functions requiring severe accident management, and to include human and
organisational factors. Regarding security threats and the prevention and response to
incidents due to malevolent or terrorist acts, a separate process would allow for the
definition of the work to be done;
− a detailed annex 1 setting out the specifications and methodology of these assessments;
− a short annex 2 stating that nuclear safety authorities should remain associated with the
process concerning security threats.

This agreement has not yet been confirmed. In the meantime since Fukushima several
Member States have launched their own safety assessments and even reached preliminary
conclusions.

3. The Commission is invited to update the Council on the state of play concerning the stress
tests.

__________________

10235/11 JPD/sb 2
DG C EN
 ANNEX
Steps taken after Fukushima 1

1. 11 March: Fukushima accident

2. 15 March: High level meeting with regulators, political representatives and industry
representatives organised by the Commission and where the stress tests were considered
3. 21 March: Extraordinary TTE, resulting in an outline of the process leading to the tests
4. 22-23 March: WENRA provided specifications for the stress tests
5. 24-25 March: European Council, where the steps outlined in para. 1, p.1, were agreed
6. 5 April: the G20 Energy, Abu Dhabi, held a discussion on the follow-up to Fukushima
7. 4-14 April: the 5th review meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety, Vienna,
addressed Fukushima and decided to hold an Extraordinary meeting in August 2012 to
review the lessons learned and the effectiveness of the Convention
8. 28 April: the Nuclear Energy Agency, Paris, addressed Fukushima and its follow-up
9. 12-13 May: ENSREG reached a fair degree of agreement on the scope and modalities
of the tests.
10. 19-20 May: ENEF, Prague, considered the follow-up to Fukushima and the stress tests
11. 27-28 May: the G8, Deauville, addresses nuclear energy and safety and adopt a
statement on "Nuclear safety in the world"
12. 28 May: the EU-Japan Summit addresses topics linked to Fukushima including nuclear
safety
13. 1 June: national regulators initiate the tests process
14. 9-10 June: the EU-Russia Summit addresses the promotion of safety standards and the
safety assessment that Russia intends to carry out
15. 10 June: the TTE Council takes stock of progress on the stress tests
16. 20-24 June: IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, Vienna, makes a
preliminary assessment of Fukushima, discuss ways of strengthening emergency
preparedness and response, and review nuclear safety generally
17. mid-September: national progress reports on the tests are available
18. November: the Commission and ENSREG prepare a report on the tests
19. 9 December: the European Council assesses preliminary findings
20. 31 December: final national reports are available

________________________

1
Steps 13, 17 and 20 are according to ENSREG`s schedule.

10235/11 JPD/sb 3
ANNEX DG C EN