Radioactive Waste Directive and Shipments Directive: Consultations on evaluating current rules

The European Commission has launched a 12-week open public consultation and call for evidence to help shape EU radioactive waste and spent fuel policy for the decade ahead. Input from these 2 exercises will feed into the Commission’s and EU countries’ future action. The Shipments Directive and the Radioactive Waste Directive have already ensured safe and responsible management of radioactive waste and spent fuel in Europe since their adoption in 2006 and 2011, respectively. However, the third Commission report on progress of implementation of the Radioactive Waste Directive identified 4 key persisting implementation issues: (i) several EU countries still did not define national policies for the long-term management of all their radioactive waste; (ii) some national programmes’ targets are not sufficiently ambitious; (iii) there are weaknesses in national programmes’ control and funding, and (iv) some cost assessments are out of date or incomprehensive.

The purpose of the evaluation is therefore to establish, based on evidence, how the Radioactive Waste Directive and the Shipments Directive have performed relative to their stated objectives. The findings will provide a robust evidence base for future policy initiative(s) aiming to ensure that the 2 directives’ objectives are fully achieved and consistently applied. The evaluation will also indicate the opportunities for improving the Euratom secondary legislative framework and reduce the associated unnecessary administrative burden.

For some EU countries, nuclear energy is an important component of their decarbonisation, industrial competitiveness, and security of supply strategies. The Commission’s nuclear illustrative programme (PINC) indicated that the nuclear installed capacity across the EU is projected to grow by 2050 to support the European clean energy transition. Consequently, new volumes of radioactive waste and spent fuel are and will be generated, adding to the existing legacy of past use of nuclear energy. Beyond power generation, radioactive waste is generated in many activities benefiting our society, such as radioisotope applications in medicine, industry, agriculture, research and education. Hence, all Member States have to manage some form of radioactive waste. In the PINC, the Commission noted that ‘effective decommissioning and responsible management of radioactive waste and spent fuel are key to ensuring safety and continued public support to the use of nuclear energy'. Safe and responsible management is even more important due to the fact that there is renewed interest in nuclear energy and cutting-edge technologies, and several EU countries have announced initiatives to support and launch new nuclear projects. The open public consultation and the call for evidence closes on 19 June 2026.

Background

The directives anchor the legal landscape for radioactive waste and spent fuel in the EU. The Radioactive Waste Directive establishes a comprehensive Euratom framework to ensure the responsible and safe long-term management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. It mandates that EU countries establish national programmes for the entire lifecycle of these materials - from generation to disposal. The Shipments Directive focuses specifically on the supervision and control of transboundary shipments.

Related links

• Webpage: Radioactive waste and spent fuel
• Consultation: Radioactive Waste Directive and Shipments Directive – evaluation
• Shipments Directive 2006/117/Euratom (on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and spent fuel)
• Radioactive Waste Directive 2011/70/Euratom (establishing a Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste)
• 3rd report on the implementation of the Directive on the Management of Radioactive Waste and spent fuel - COM(2024)197
• Communication – Nuclear Illustrative-Programme (PINC)