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Foratom, Europe’s nuclear trade body, wants a quick ‘Brexatom’ deal with UK

Europe’s nuclear trade body pushes for swift ‘Brexatom’ deal with UK, Telegraph,   James Rothwell, brexit correspondent, brussels 11 OCTOBER 2017  

Europe’s nuclear trade body has said it sees no reason why the UK cannot quickly sign a nuclear deal with the EU after Brexit which mirrors agreements the bloc already holds with the US and Japan.

Foratom, which is based in Brussels and represents nearly 800 nuclear firms across the EU, said it “absolutely” wanted to maintain close links with the British nuclear industry, even after its departure from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

The government’s announcement that Britain will leave Euratom – a process dubbed “Brexatom” – is controversial, as it would force the country to establish its own nuclear safeguards regime and sign complex nuclear co-operation agreements with trading partners.But Berta Picamal, a member of Foratom’s executive office, said it was eager to set up a partnership that was “as close as possible” to the current regime as it would be mutually beneficial.

“It is in our interests to put in a regime as soon as possible that is as close as possible to the one we have,” she told the Telegraph.

“We are now analysing nuclear cooperation agreements that we have with third countries to see to which extent we can replicate what we have with the US or Japan with the UK.”

She added: “We do not foresee this not being solved, it’s not an option. Theresa May said she would cooperate on continued research and development projects. It’s key.”

Founded in 1957, the Euratom treaty oversees the international movement of nuclear materials, people and services through a framework which governs safety standards and research.

Though technically not part of the EU, Euratom is under the ultimate jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and requires the free movement of nuclear scientists between EU member states.

Both of these requirements are red lines for the British government, which has vowed to end free movement and direct jurisdiction of the EU over UK laws after Brexit.

Ms Picamal said it was crucial that any future deal guaranteed EU nuclear scientists access to European nuclear projects with facilities in the UK, such as the the Joint European Torus (JET) project in Culham, Oxfordshire……….http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/10/11/europes-nuclear-trade-body-pushes-swift-brexatom-deal-uk/

October 13, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics international, UK