Nuclear Safety and Security in Europe

Nuclear safety and security (NSS) represents a controversial sector under EU law. Indeed, international law provides for a number of ex ante and ex post obligations which have to be respected by the European institutions, the Member States and individuals. In particular, the EU and its Member States must make progress on this field, especially in consideration of the consequences of nuclear accidents occurred in recent past. At the European level, one additional actor is called into question: the European Community on Atomic Energy (Euratom). Over the years, Euratom has not been considered so much by EU law scholars. Accordingly, the governance system, tools and essential contents of the supranational law on NSS deserve to be analysed. Therefore, the contribution is structured as follows. Section 1 provides for a preliminary analysis concerning the relationship between the EU and Euratom and the way NSS has been addressed by relevant supranational strategies. The following sections focus on some core obligations on NSS, which are analysed by following the phases of the risk management cycle. In particular, the second section focuses on measures of prevention and preparedness, while the third is devoted to exploring measures of response and recovery. At the end, a brief conclusion is provided.