The Western European Nuclear Regulators Association : Europe leading the nuclear safety harmonisation process

14Mar
2006

Speaker: André-Claude Lacoste, Directeur général de la sûreté nucléaire et de la radioprotection, French nuclear safety authority

WENRA, the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association, totalising 17 top regulators from nuclear countries in Europe (old and new Member States), has committed itself to a continuous improvement of nuclear safety in Europe.

With this objective, WENRA has started developing an harmonised approach to nuclear safety in Europe. WENRA has developed common safety “reference levels” and has benchmarked them against national practices and regulations in Member States. The aim is now to harmonise national practices before the end of 2010.

WENRA’s action does not stand alone. There are other efforts towards harmonisation worldwide (IAEA, OECD/NEA, multilateral initiatives like INRA – International Nuclear Regulators Association). With the WENRA work, Europe is leading the way. Its role is also to ensure that worldwide harmonisation is achieved with the highest level of nuclear safety.