Key Benefits:
President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development,
Considering the Constitution, in particular articles 52 to 55;
Vu le environmental codeincluding article L. 542-2 (1°);
Vu la Act No. 2006-739 of 28 June 2006 programme on the sustainable management of radioactive materials and wastes;
Vu le Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 amended on the ratification and publication of international commitments undertaken by France,
Decrete:
The agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on the treatment of Belgian waste fuels in La Hague, signed in Paris on 25 April 2013, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development are responsible, each with respect to him, for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
AGREEMENT
ENTER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRANÇAISE REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BELGIUM ROYAL RELATING TO THE WORK OF USED COMBUSTIBLES TO THE HAGUE, SIGNED TO PARIS 25 APRIL 2013
The Government of the French Republic, on the one hand, and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, on the other hand, considering:
- the contract for the treatment of spent fuel from the BR2 research reactor located on the Mol site in Belgium concluded on 10 July 1997 between the General Nuclear Material Company (hereinafter referred to as AREVA NC) and StudieCentrum voor Kernenergie/Centre for Nuclear Energy Studies (hereinafter referred to as SCKCEN);
- the letter of the Minister of Industry of the French Republic dated 7 November 2006 to the attention of the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium to a recent amendment to French legislation on the sustainable management of radioactive materials and wastes;
- theArticle L. 542-2-1 of the Environmental Code As a result of French law No. 2006-739 of 28 June 2006 on the sustainable management of radioactive materials and wastes, I of which states in particular: "Used fuels or radioactive wastes may only be introduced in the national territory for the purposes of treatment, research or transfer between foreign States. The introduction for processing purposes can only be authorized under intergovernmental agreements and provided that radioactive wastes derived from the treatment of these substances are not stored in France beyond a date fixed by these agreements. The agreement sets out the predictive times for receiving and processing these substances and if there is any prospect for further use of separate radioactive material during processing. "
agreed that:
Article 1
This Agreement refers to used fuel processing operations under the above-mentioned contract. It is concluded without prejudice to the nuclear safety and radiation protection regulations. In accordance with the articles L. 542-2 and L. 542-2-1 the French environmental code as a result of the Act No. 2006-739 of 28 June 2006, the entry into French territory of Belgian waste fuels is carried out for the purpose of processing by AREVA NC, and cannot result in the definitive storage of radioactive waste from abroad or of radioactive waste from the treatment of spent fuel in French territory.
The introduction in France of used fuels is authorized subject to compliance with the following provisions and to obtain authorizations for their treatment under the nuclear safety regulations.
Article 2
The receipt of spent fuel from the BR2 research reactor at the La Hague French reprocessing plant will take place between the date of the entry into force of this Agreement and 31 December 2025.
Article 3
The treatment of spent fuel from the BR2 research reactor is planned for a period of six years following each delivery of spent fuel to the La Hague plant, while respecting the following terms.
Article 4
In accordance with the obligations and commitments agreed to in paragraph 1 of this Agreement, radioactive wastes derived from the treatment of these fuels will be returned to Belgium, which undertakes to receive them as packaged waste. Given the low volume of waste generated by the treatment, the return of waste will be optimized by minimizing the number of transport by 31 December 2030.
Article 5
The French Government undertakes to make the necessary and relevant arrangements to enable the implementation of this Agreement.
The Belgian Government undertakes to make the necessary and relevant arrangements to enable the implementation of this Agreement.
The Government of Belgium undertakes to ensure compliance with the deadlines set out in this Agreement in the procedures for authorizations, permits and licences required for the shipment of radioactive waste to a storage or storage facility in Belgium in accordance with the applicable safety rules.
Article 6
The transport of radioactive wastes in the territories of the French Republic, any transit State and the Kingdom of Belgium will be carried out in accordance with the regulations in force.
Article 7
Uranium and plutonium from the treatment of spent fuel will be recycled as new nuclear fuels in a civil-use reactor.
Article 8
(a) Any dispute between the Governments relating to the application or interpretation of this Agreement shall be resolved through formal consultations between the Parties. These formal consultations are held no later than two months after the receipt of the request from one of the Parties.
(b) If within six months a dispute is not resolved in this manner by the Governments with satisfaction of the two Parties, it shall, at the request of either of the Governments concerned, be subject to arbitration.
(c) Arbitration is rendered by an Arbitration Board whose composition is ensured as follows:
Each Government shall designate an arbitrator. The two arbitrators so designated shall designate the third arbitrator acting as president.
Members of the Arbitration Board other than the Chair shall be appointed within two months, the Chair within three months of the application for arbitration.
The costs of the Commission are also shared between Parties. Each Party is responsible for the costs of its own representation.
(d) If a designation has not been made within the time limit set out in paragraph (c) above, each State Party may invite the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union to make the necessary designation
If the President of the Court is a national of a State concerned or is prevented from assuming this function for another reason, the Chamber Presidents of that Court shall, by order of seniority, make the necessary designation.
If they are nationals of a State concerned or if they are also prevented from performing this function, the judge of the oldest Court who is not a national of any of the States concerned and who is not prevented for other reasons shall make the necessary designation.
(e) The Arbitration Board shall make its decisions by a majority of votes, on the basis of this Agreement and general international law. Arbitrators cannot abstain. The decisions of the Arbitration Board are final, mandatory for Parties, and not subject to appeal.
Article 9
Each Party shall notify the other of the fulfilment of the constitutional procedures required for the entry into force of this Agreement, which shall take effect on the date of receipt of the second notification.
This Agreement is valid until the date of the last return of radioactive waste from the treatment of spent fuel entering its scope.
Made in Paris on April 25, 2013, in two original French-language copies.
For the Government of the French Republic: Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium: Patrick Vercauteren-Drubbel, Ambassador of Belgium to France
Done on 23 July 2014.
François Hollande
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
Manuel Valls
Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development,
Laurent Fabius
