(*) Key achievements in the table state to which period they relate to. Some come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual lifecycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often materialise only after completion of the programmes.
Budget for 2021-2027
(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.
(million EUR)
Financial programming | 1 978.3 |
NextGenerationEU |
|
Decommitments made available again (*) | 0 |
Contributions from other countries and entities | 24.0 |
Total budget 2021-2027 | 2 002.3 |
(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.
Rationale and design of the programme
The Euratom Research and Training Programme (2021-2025) is a nuclear research and training programme with an emphasis on the continuous improvement of nuclear safety, security and radiation protection. It complements the achievement of Horizon Europe’s objectives, including in the context of the energy transition as well as contributing to the implementation of the European fusion roadmap.
Nuclear research contributes to social well-being and economic prosperity by improving nuclear safety, security and radiation protection. Research and innovation in the nuclear field play a key role in maintaining the highest safety standards and EU competences in the nuclear domain. Radiation protection research leads to improvements in medical technologies as well as in other sectors (such as industry and the environment), from which many citizens benefit. Nuclear research also supports the EU’s efforts in the transition to a climate-neutral energy system.
Public and private research at the national level has a significant role to play in this effort. Euratom’s task is to complement Member States’ contributions by means of an EU-based research and training programme.
The general objective of the Euratom Programme is to pursue nuclear research and training activities, with an emphasis on the continuous improvement of nuclear safety, security and radiation protection, as well as to complement the achievement of Horizon Europe’s objectives inter alia in the context of the energy transition. The programme also focuses on the development of fusion energy – a long term option for large-scale, low-carbon electricity production
Its European added value is made explicit in the Euratom Treaty and the Commission has an obligation to put forward a research and development programme to complement those in Member States. The justification for Euratom intervention is based on the need to ensure high and uniform levels of nuclear safety in Europe. Moreover, the Treaty also establishes the obligation for Member States to establish provisions on basic safety standards and to monitor the level of radioactivity in the environment on their territory. Through the Joint Research Centre, the Commission provides standards and technical means to ensure that Member States fulfil their obligations properly. The Commission must fulfil its safeguarding obligations, in particular safeguarding the existing radioactive materials in the EU and the obligations assumed under the non-proliferation treaty. Under the Euratom research and training programme, the Joint Research Centre develops methods, standards and techniques and provides scientific and technical support to other Commission departments.
Euratom pursues the following specific objectives:
- to improve and support nuclear safety, security, safeguards, radiation protection, safe spent fuel and radioactive waste management and decommissioning, including the safe and secure use of nuclear power and of non-power applications of ionising radiation;
- to maintain and further develop expertise and competence in the nuclear field within the EU;
- to foster the development of fusion energy as a potential future energy source for electricity production and contribute to the implementation of the European fusion roadmap;
- to support the EU policy on continuous improvement of nuclear safety, safeguards and security.
During 2021-2025, the Euratom programme will continue to give top priority to direct and indirect actions for maintaining nuclear expertise and for supporting research for nuclear safety, with particular emphasis on ageing nuclear plants, long-term operation strategies and accident management. The additional safety requirements introduced by the nuclear safety directive require increased efforts in developing an understanding of degradation mechanisms of safety-relevant components and the impact on safety overall. This would support a science-based assessment of the safety margins and allow for timely implementation of safety improvements. The predictive tools and assessment methods developed by the Euratom programme would benefit the periodic safety reviews of existing nuclear installations. They would also help regulators in assessing new designs.
Besides research in nuclear fields, direct actions, implemented by the Joint Research Centre, will also focus on nuclear security and nuclear safeguards by developing techniques and methods aiming at reducing nuclear security risks and supporting nuclear non-proliferation efforts. In addition, the Joint Research Centre will develop nuclear standards and support the implementation of Euratom policies in these areas.
For the development of fusion energy during 2021-2025, the co-funded European partnership in fusion research will build on the progress made by the EUROfusion consortium (2014-2020), providing support for the efficient commencement of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor’s operations and working hand in hand with industry, to increase the efforts on the conceptual design and technologies for a fusion power plant.
The Euratom Programme is implemented in direct management by the European Commission. The Programme uses the instruments and rules of participation of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The Programme provides research grants to labs and universities through competitive calls for proposals and to named beneficiaries. It also provides financing in the form of prizes and procurement. The Programme funds research carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre through direct actions, subject to a separate work programme.
Euratom funded research supports Member States’, safety authorities’ and industry’s efforts to ensure that EU nuclear installations are designed, constructed, operated and decommissioned applying the highest standards of safety, security, radioactive waste management and non-proliferation. For the future nuclear technologies, the programme aims to ensure that they meet the highest safety standards and that safety implications of future deployment are fully understood. Euratom actions provide just incentives for such safety research and the Euratom funding would in no way be able to support major work or the development of new systems and demonstrators. For the development of fusion energy, the Euratom Programme funds implementation of fusion roadmap, a comprehensive research programme to support the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor exploitation and development of design and technologies for fusion power plant.
The 2021-2025 programme builds on its predecessor, the 2014-2020 Euratom programme. Compared to its predecessor, the new programme has a single set of objectives for both direct and indirect actions, seeking to enhance synergies with Horizon Europe in particular in education and training by opening Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to nuclear researchers. Under the 2021-2025 programme, most of the research, particularly research and innovation in fusion energy, nuclear materials, radioactive waste management and radiation protection, will be carried out through co-funded European Partnerships. A new generation of co-funded European Partnerships should achieve a greater impact, involving a wide range of research partners. This new approach capitalises on a decade of Commission, Member State and stakeholder efforts in ensuring more sustainable and inclusive research, creating stronger links between EU and national policies.
Programme website:
Impact assessment:
Relevant regulation:
Evaluations:
- Interim evaluation.
- Ex-post evaluation of the activities of the Joint Research Centre (2014-2020), ISBN 978-92-76-55600-8.
Budget
Budget programming (million EUR):
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial programming | 264.7 | 269.7 | 276.5 | 281.2 | 287.8 | 293.8 | 304.5 | 1 978.3 |
| NextGenerationEU | ||||||||
| Decommitments made available again (*) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Contributions from other countries and entities | 15.1 | 8.9 | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | 24.0 |
| Total | 279.8 | 278.6 | 276.5 | 281.2 | 287.8 | 293.8 | 304.5 | 2 002.3 |
(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.
Financial programming:
- EUR 2 million (- 0%)
compared to the legal basis*
* Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.
Budget performance – implementation
Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):
| Implementation | 2021-2027 Budget | Implementation rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitments | 554.1 | 2 002.3 | 27.7% |
| Payments | 416.5 | 20.8% |
Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR)(1):
| Commitments | Payments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voted budget implementation | Initial voted budget | Voted budget implementation | Initial voted budget | |
| 2021 | 264.7 | 265.7 | 193.0 | 207.9 |
| 2022 | 269.7 | 270.7 | 198.4 | 267.8 |
(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.
- For grants in fission research (i.e. nuclear safety and radiation protection), all 2021-2022 appropriations were committed to a biennial call for proposals launched in July 2021. On this basis, in 2022, the Commission awarded 28 grants for total amount of EUR 117 million for research projects. The Commission also launched in 2022 a new call with funding of EUR 10 million for safety analyses for the licensing of water-water energy reactor nuclear fuel manufactured by suppliers outside Russia. Payments started in 2022 with prefinancing for selected projects.
- In fusion energy research, all 2021-2025 appropriations, EUR 549 million, were committed in 2021 to the grant for co-funded European Partnership EUROfusion in accordance with the Commission multiannual financing decision (C(2021)4201) and in line with the Article 4(5) of the Council regulation 2021/765 establishing the Programme (allowing budgetary commitments in annual instalments over several years). Payments started in 2021 with prefinacing for EUROfusion and followed in 2022 in line with reimbursement requests in the annual reports from the Partnership.
- In 2023, all appropriations for grants in fission research (i.e. nuclear safety, radiation protection and radioactive waste management) will be committed to 2023-2025 call for proposals. For fusion research, all appropriations are committed to EUROfusion co-funded European Partnership in line with the 2021-2025 financing decision. For both fission and fusion research, payments appropriations will be used for reimbursement requests from on-going projects.
- Appropriations requested for fission research in the context of the draft budget 2024 are necessary to fund a triennial, 2023-2025, call for proposals. This call will be launched in 2023 and grants will be awarded in 2024. For fusion research, all appropriations proposed for 2024 will be committed to EUROfusion co-funded European Partnership in line with the 2021-2025 financing decision. For both fission and fusion research, 2024 payments appropriations will be used for reimbursement requests from on-going projects.
- The separate Joint Research Centre 2021-2022 Work Programme for the direct actions was adopted in June 2021 and covers the main specific objectives of the programme, including nuclear security, safeguards, non-proliferation and policy support. In 2021, approximately 33% of direct actions were dedicated to nuclear safety research (including waste management, decommissioning and environmental radioprotection); 32% to research on nuclear safeguards, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and security; 16% to research for establishing the foundations of nuclear science for standardisation and for non-energy applications of ionising radiation; 11% to knowledge management, education and training activities; and 8% to support provided to Euratom policies.
- It is also important to underline that external factors such as covid epidemic, absence of the United Kingdom and the Switzerland association, inflation and war in Ukraine are affecting the implementation of Euratom direct and indirect activities. The following concrete examples are intended to illustrate these issues but do not cover all impacts on the activities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant adverse impacts on research infrastructures, research activities and projects, availability of human resources, operational costs and International open access capabilities:
Research infrastructures have been severely hit by the crisis and Europe’s research labs scrambled to make the best use of their resources, while successive lockdowns have delayed mandatory upgrades, refurbishment of facilities and experimental loops, the construction of new infrastructures. Remote access for researchers was offered to a certain extent but not all experiments could be carried out remotely thereby affecting the productivity of research in nuclear sciences and technologies. The pandemic has forced funding agencies, research organizations, universities or industrial partners to redirect funding towards pandemic-related research or to reduce their overall funding. Laboratories had to revamp their hiring plans, leading to disruptions in research activities and projects, closure of laboratories or unique infrastructures, and several cancellation of programmes which in turn affected funding and timelines.
International access has become an issue in several research infrastructures or European projects and an acute challenge to maintain a sizable share of open access remains.
Today’s energy crisis has hugely increased operational costs, availability and costs of laboratory supplies or equipment, and disrupted availability of resources to conduct research effectively.
Furthermore, due to the budget reduction of the current programme, the Joint Research Centre experienced staff has being reduced without replacement, in addition to an already quite limited replacement during the previous multiannual financial framework. However a new generation of experts and know-how should be available when needed, to maintain high levels of safety, and expertise in nuclear medicine in Europe and around the world. The high inflation and energy prices and the war in Ukraine also required a prioritisation of the direct activities whose impact is not yet evident.
In 2023, appropriate solutions have to be found to help researchers to catch up the delays as much as possible and to continue to advance important research even during challenging times.
As these circumstances has currently adverse impacts on the implementation the programme, it is therefore foreseen that the performance of the programme will be affected and could prevent the achievement of the general objective of the Euratom programme.
Contribution to horizontal priorities
Green budgeting
Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):
| Implementation | Estimates | Total contribution | % of the 2021–2027 budget | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |||
| Climate mainstreaming | 121.3 | 125.2 | 134.2 | 137.9 | 143.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 661.7 | 33% |
| Biodiversity mainstreaming | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% |
| Clean air | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% |
- The Euratom research and training programme 2021-2025 contributes to climate mainstreaming, as the programme’s general objective provides for complementing the achievement of Horizon Europe’s objectives, inter alia, in the context of the energy transition. The research results of the Euratom programme could be used by some Member States, exercising the right to decide on their energy mix, towards establishing climate-neutral energy systems in a safe, efficient and secure way.
- In this context, it is considered that 100% of the expenditure for fusion energy research contributes to the climate effort of the EU budget. Fusion energy represents a possible long-term option for large‑scale low‑carbon electricity production, which could help address growing electricity demand towards the end of this century. To prepare Europe for fusion deployment, the research and technology development funded by the Euratom programme today must demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion energy, and then demonstrate its commercial and economic viability.
- In view of the importance given by the Euratom programme to non-power applications, radiation protection and waste management, it is considered that not all of the expenditure on fission research contributes to the climate effort of the EU budget. In this context, it should be underlined that safety is a concern for all European citizens and a prime focus cross-cutting all Euratom-funded research activities.
- According to the EU markers for climate, it is considered that 100% of the fusion-research-related expenditure and 40% of the fission-research-related expenditure contribute to the climate effort of the EU budget.
Gender
Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):
| Gender score | 2021 | 2022 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0* | 264.7 | 269.7 | 534.4 |
(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.
- Gender equality is a cross-cutting priority in Horizon Europe and also concerns the Euratom programme, as stated in recital 2 of the Council regulation. The integration of the gender dimension into research and innovation content will be a requirement by default. Furthermore, the Euratom programme is promoting gender equality through sustainable institutional change by requesting that applicants (public bodies, research organisations and higher education establishments) have in place a gender equality plan as an eligibility criterion for research proposals (requirement shared with Horizon Europe).
- The Joint Research Centre manages the European Human Resources Observatory for the nuclear energy sector, in order to ensure the availability of data on human resources, including gender balance. In its 2030 strategy, the Joint Research Centre declares itself as an equal opportunity employer committed to the objective of being fully gender balanced; this has been further developed by issuing a gender balance strategy. In 2021, the Joint Research Centre equality mainstreaming action plan was published. The plan includes concrete actions to develop it internally and to carry out research contributing to the Commission work on inclusion and equality.
Digital
Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):
| 2021 | 2022 | Total | % of the total 2021-2027 implementation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital contribution | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% |
- The Commission puts a strong emphasis on digital transition in the Euratom calls for research proposals. Specific call topics for actions in nuclear safety, radiation protection and waste management include requirements, as appropriate, for digitalisation and deployment of artificial intelligence, robotics, internet of things and big data.
Budget performance – outcomes
| Baseline | Progress | Target | Results | Assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Euratom- funded peer-reviewed scientific publications | 0 | 10% (*) | 4 000 in 2025 | 399 compared to a target of 4 000 | On track |
| Reference materials delivered and reference data incorporated to a library | 0 | 45% (*) | 42 in 2025 | 19 compared to a target of 42 | On track |
| Number of outputs contributing to modify international standards | 0 | 20% (*) | 20 in 2025 | 4 compared to a target of 20 | On track |
| Number of technical systems provided and in use | 0 | 43% (*) | 65 in 2025 | 28 compared to a target of 65 | On track |
| Number of people having benefited from upskilling activities of the Euratom programme (through training, mobility and access to infrastructure) | 0 | 47% (*) | 6 000 in 2025 | 2 794 compared to a target of 6 000 | On track |
| Number and share of Euratom projects producing policy-relevant findings | 0 | 40% (**) | 50% from 2023 to 2025 | Milestones achieved for 2021 and 2022 | On track |
| Amount of public and private investment mobilised with the initial Euratom investment | 0 | 11% (*)
| EUR 500 million in 2025 | EUR 57 million compared to a target of EUR 500 million | On track |
| Number of full-time equivalent jobs created, and jobs maintained in beneficiary entities for the Euratom project (by type of job) | 0 | N/A | 11 000 in 2025 | N/A | No data |
| Progress in the implementation of the fusion roadmap – Percentage of the fusion roadmap’s milestones established for the period 2021-2025 reached by the Euratom programme | 0 | 15% (*) | 95% in 2025 | 14% compared to a target of 95% | On track |
(*) % of target achieved by the end of 2022.
(**) % of years for which the milestones or target have been achieved during the 2021-2025 period.
Link to file with complete set of EU core performance indicators
- The Euratom programme achieved substantial progress in its main areas of research, as shown by indicators for publications, the number of people benefiting from Euratom-funded education, training and access to infrastructure, and mobilisation of investment from research stakeholders with Euratom funding.
- In 2022, the second year of implementation of EUROfusion, the co-funded European partnership for fusion energy research, researchers used the Joint European Torus device to release a record 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy. These results are the clearest demonstration of the potential for fusion energy to deliver safe and sustainable low-carbon energy. This achievement comes as part of a dedicated experimental campaign designed by EUROfusion to optimally prepare for the start of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project. For 2021, research stakeholders mobilised 51% of funding for EUROfusion. Similarly to the previous programme, we observe a slow start of publications in peer-reviewed journals from the new grant (about 194), while research carried out in 2014-2020 resulted in 975 publications in peer-reviewed journals in 2021. The progress made by the partnership in terms of roadmap milestones (14%) is much better than the 10% achieved in the first year of the previous 2014-2020 partnership (10%).
- In 2022, the Commission awarded 28 grants for a total amount of EUR 117 million for research projects in nuclear safety, radiation protection and non-power applications of nuclear technologies. One of the projects is the co-funded European Partnership PIANOFORTE (https://pianoforte-partnership.eu, with funding of EUR 30 million). Its purpose is to provide a scientific and technological basis for a robust system of radiation protection and more consolidated science-based policy recommendations to decisionmakers in all of these different fields and – at the same time – to innovate in ionising radiation-based medical applications combating cancer and other diseases by new and optimised diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, while always considering radiation safety.
- In 2022, the Commission also launched a new call for research proposals, with funding of EUR 10 million, to launch an action to carry out necessary safety analyses and tests and to establish procedures needed for the licensing of water-water energy reactor nuclear fuel manufactured by suppliers outside Russia. This action will address the issue of security of supply of fuel for Russian-designed water-water energy reactors in the EU and Ukraine. The operation of these reactors currently depends mainly on Russian-produced nuclear fuel. The sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have made it necessary to strengthen the security of the supply situation for these reactors. Almost EUR 1 million from the Euratom programme were awarded in 2022 as Maria Curie-Skłodowska Fellowships to five post-doctoral researchers in different areas of nuclear research such as waste management, fusion energy and medical applications.
- In 2021-2022, the direct actions of the programme, implemented by the Joint Research Centre, resulted in the publication of 205 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and 57 scientific articles in other periodicals, while four doctoral theses were published during the period. The technical outputs delivered include 17 sets of reference materials and four validated methods, which contributed to the modification of international standards, as well as 28 technical systems, most of them for safeguards, and 16 scientific datasets and databases.
- In 2022, the direct actions performance in relation to some indicators was lower than expected. This trend can be explained by two main factors.
- (1) Although the steady reduction of staff during the past framework programme has been accounted for in the decrease of the baseline key performance indicator, the significant cut of resources implemented in the current Euratom research and training programme 2021-2025 has exacerbated the trend.
- (2) The main factor responsible for the decreased output in 2020-2021 is the restricted access to and use of the laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic, for more than 2 years, as required by Commission–Joint Research Centre measures and in compliance with national regulations implemented by the host country. Initially only basic operations to maintain compliance with nuclear regulations were performed; essentially no research activities were carried out during this stage. In a second period, only limited access to the laboratories was allowed on a shift basis to carry out high-priority tasks. A gradual return to ‘normal/full’ access to the laboratories was implemented only during 2022.
- All deliverables related to experimental work to be performed in the laboratories have been strongly affected due to the long time needed to show results in nuclear science. It is expected that this negative effect will also be reflected in the output of 2023.
With the full lifting of access restrictions, an effort to catch up with delayed and/or suspended research activities has started. Moreover, it is hoped that in the medium term, the resource optimisation effort generated by the implementation of the new nuclear strategy may limit the decreasing trend of the output associated with the resource cuts of the current Euratom research and technology programme.
MFF 2014-2020 – Euratom Research and Training
Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community for the period from 1 January 2014 -2018 and from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020.
Budget implementation
Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):
| Implementation | 2014-2020 Budget | Implementation rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitments | 2 357.0 | 2 368.9 | 99.50% |
| Payments | 2 171.2 | 91.66% |
- All of the 2022 available payment appropriations have been used, mainly to cover legal obligations of ongoing projects.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the access to Joint Research Centre laboratories and experimental facilities – apart from those doing research on the virus – was restricted in 2020-2021, as required by Joint Research Centre measures and in compliance with national regulations of the host country. The closure has disrupted the work of most of the researchers, as the restrictions were gradually released and normal access was only possible in 2022. The disruption was particularly severe for experiments in the nuclear field, as their experiments cannot be carried out remotely. Therefore, the productivity in nuclear research has been greatly affected, for example in relation to publications. Since 2022, the installations are put back into operation in a safe manner taking into account the interruption. In 2023, the Joint Research Centre researchers are striving to catch up the delay as much as possible.
- As regards, the indirect activities, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to have an impact on the implementation of projects. During 2022, beneficiaries requested extensions of ongoing projects and submitted lower cost claims.
| Baseline | Progress | Target | Results | Assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of publications in peer-reviewed high-impact journals | 0 | > 100% (*) | 800 in 2020 | 874 compared to a target of 800 | Achieved |
| Number of spin-offs from the fusion research under the programme | 0 | 100% (*) | 6 in 2020 | 6 compared to a target of 6 | Achieved |
| Patent applications generated and patents awarded | 0 | > 100% (**) | 4 in 2020 | 7 compared to a target of 4 | Achieved |
(*) % of target achieved by the end of 2020.
(**) % of target achieved by the end of 2021.
Link to file with complete set of EU core performance indicators
- The programme is on track as regards the 2014-2020 activities, the implementation of which will continue during 2023.
- Despite the pandemic, indirect actions achieved very good results. Several measures have been introduced to mitigate the risk of delays in the implementation of ongoing projects, such as acceptance of extensions and teleworking during the transitional period after confinement.
- In all, 18 indicators out of 20 were recorded as on track (18 have reached their target). Only two indicators show moderate progress. No indicator is so clearly off-track as to deserve attention.
- By the end of 2022, several projects were completed and the programme has performed solidly in several respects – and notably in fusion research: the EUROfusion consortium has achieved 90% of the milestones established during 2014-2020.
- The fission projects involved an estimated workforce of around 8 000 people, including scientific managers, experienced researchers, additional specialist researchers and PhD students working on a part- or full-time basis in the projects. They are mainly employed by research organisations, private entities and higher or secondary education establishments. This illustrates the positive and high impact achieved between Member State institutes, research centres, academia, industry and Euratom, by closely collaborating at the EU level towards common broad scientific and technological research challenges and opportunities, innovation, development and demonstration goals.
- For example, the European joint programme on radioactive waste management supported the implementation of the nuclear waste directive in the Euratom Member States with EUR 32.5 million of Euratom funding.
- Under the direct actions, the operation of the European clearinghouse initiative on nuclear power plants operational experience feedback performed 12 topical studies, including analysis of causes, consequences, safety impact and corrective actions on incidents that occurred in nuclear power plants and 26 reviews of Member State event reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- In addition, direct actions allowed the training of staff from 180 regulatory bodies and the clearinghouse initiative contributed to drafting two International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear safety technical documents and two standards in nuclear safety.
- In 2014-2020, the Joint Research Centre provided access to its nuclear research infrastructures to 158 projects, resulting in 140 research articles, with the participation of 64 PhD and Master’s students.
Sustainable development goals
Contribution to the sustainable development goals
The programme pursues nuclear research and training activities, as well as to complement the achievement of Horizon Europe’s objectives inter alia in the context of the energy transition. In accordance with the EURATOM regulation, no direct contribution of the EURATOM programme to the SDGs has been identified.