EURATOM: a regional system within the international regime of nuclear nonproliferation

The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was created in 1958 by the six founding Members of what is now the European Union (EU) with 28 Member States. From the outset, it comprised key elements which can be seen as the start of an international nonproliferation regime. Operational since 1960, the EURATOM Treaty established a supranational nuclear safeguards system that was completed on an international scale by the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty. The EURATOM Treaty assigns the responsibility for the implementation of nuclear safeguards to the European Commission, an executive body independent from the Member States with far-reaching powers of verification. Lessons learned from its application in Europe in more than half a century include the need for independence of the inspectorate and the robustness of its legal and practical powers. By ensuring that infringements by Member States’ duties in handling nuclear materials are followed up and, if needed, operators sanctioned, EURATOM has contributed to making the EU a safer place. EURATOM is a regional system which is recognised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with which it shares common duties and interests, not only in the field of nuclear safeguards. In an ever-closer co-operation, next steps are to further enhance EURATOM’s role so that the IAEA can focus on other areas of the world. To this end, EURATOM supports the IAEA’s State Level Concept (SLC) approach and proposes to widen it to a Regional Level Concept (RLC). EURATOM has the legal powers, the political will, and financial and human resources to fulfil its part in the international non-proliferation system of the 21st century.