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Supplementary research programme to be implemented by Joint Research Centre for the European Atomic Energy Community - High Flux Reactor - ,1996-1999

 
On 29 April 1992, the Council adopted a four-year supplementary research programme, covering the period 1992-1995, concerning the operation of the High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten. The present programme is being established to ensure the continuity of these activities for the period 1996-1999.

The Petten High Flux Reactor is operated by the Commission in accordance with the Euratom/Netherlands agreement of 25 July 1961, under which the Commission has committed itself, on behalf of the Community, to build the necessary facilities and to provide additional equipment in order to make optimum use of these facilities, including the HFR.

Under the 1992-1995 phase of the programme, the activities of the HFR were essentially the outcome of cooperation between the two partners, Germany and the Netherlands, which guaranteed its financing. The new 1996-1999 phase of the programme contains significant changes reflecting a dramatic shift in the work which is to be carried out by the HFR, notably a series of internal reforms aimed at increasing the HFR's competitiveness without damaging either its safety or its reliability.

The main features of the new programme are as follows:

- The financial contribution of the Netherlands is to continue at the same level as that of the previous programme;
- Germany's financial contribution is to be reduced;
- A new Member State, France, is to participate in, and contribute financially to, the HFR's activities;
- A sharp decrease in the HFR's "institutional budget", implying in exchange that the finance from long-term external contracts must be stepped up.
To operate the High Flux Reactor (HFR) situated at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Petten for the Netherlands, Germany and France in order to enable them to pursue research projects.
Two activities:

- To ensure the reliability of the HFR at Petten; this activity involves the normal use of the installation for more than 250 days a year, the management of the fuel cycle and control of safety and quality;

- The rational use of the HFR in a broad range of disciplines, including isotope production and the work related to it; the experimental irradiation of the materials intended for fission reactors and future fusion, the application of neutrons in research in solid state physics and materials science, neutroradiography as a non-destructive testing method and the treatment of certain forms of cancer using neutrons and related research.
The Commission, assisted by the Board of Governors of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is responsible for carrying out the programme by means of the services of the JRC.

The financial resources estimated as necessary for the implementation of the supplementary programme amount to ECU 39.7 million. This amount is to be contributed by three Member States: the Netherlands (ECU 32.5 million); Germany (ECU 6 million); and France (ECU 1.2 million). These contributions are made either directly by the Member States concerned or through agreements with research bodies.

The Member States' contributions are to be treated as receipts in the general budget of the European Communities (under heading 6221). This revenue will make it possible to obtain additional appropriations to cover the expenditure on staff, project execution and operational appropriations (normal running costs, investment and contracts). Additional financing may also be raised through the establishment, by the Commission, of formal contracts with external partners.

The Commission is required, before 15 April each year, to submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a report on the implementation of this Decision. This report will be accompanied by the observations of the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors may also submit through the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee a separate report on any aspect of the implementation of this Decision.