The regional training and assistance missions ASN responds to requests from the IAEA secretariat, in particular to take part in regional radiation protection training and in assistance missions. The beneficiaries are often countries of the French-speaking community. In addition and still under the supervision of the IAEA, ASN is also involved in the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF). This forum, created in 2010, aims to establish contacts between the safety regulators of countries adopting nuclear energy for the first time and the safety regulators of the leading nuclear countries, in order to identify their needs and coordinate the support to be provided, while ensuring that the fundamental principles of nuclear safety are met (independence of the regulator, appropriate legal and regulatory framework, and so on). In 2023, in addition to preparing assistance for the nuclear safety regulators of Ghana and Poland, the RCF continued to reinforce its cooperation with the EU (EINS) and with regional safety regulator forums. Management of nuclear and radiological emergency situations ASN takes part in the IAEA’s work to improve notification and information exchanges in radiological emergency situations. On this subject, ASN takes part in the exercises organised by the IAEA to test the operational provisions of the Convention on the Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, called “convention exercises” or “ConvEx exercises”. These exercises, which are more specifically designed to enable the participants to acquire practical experience and understand the procedures involved in preparing and running these interventions, are of three types: ∙ the ConvEx-1 exercises, more specifically designed to test the emergency lines of communication established with the points of contact in the Member States; ∙ the ConvEx-2 exercises, designed to test particular aspects of the international framework for the preparation and performance of emergency interventions and the assessment and prognosis provisions and tools for emergency situations; ∙ the ConvEx-3 exercises, aimed at assessing the emergency intervention provisions and the resources in place to deal with a severe emergency for several days. In 2023, ASN took part in two “ConvEx” exercises (see chapter 4). ASN also takes part in defining international assistance strategy, requirements and means and in developing the Response Assistance Network (RANET) within the IAEA. This network was mobilised in 2022 to address the needs for individual protection and radiation protection resources expressed by Ukraine. 3.2 THE NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY (NEA) OF THE OECD Created in 1958, the NEA today comprises 38 member countries from among the most industrially developed states. Its main goal is to help the member countries maintain and expand the scientific, technological and legal bases essential to the safe, environmentally-friendly and economical use of nuclear energy. Owing to the war in Ukraine, Russia’s membership of the NEA was suspended on 2 April 2022. Within the NEA, ASN is more particularly involved in the work of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA). It also takes part in the Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health, the Radioactive Waste Management Committee, the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear installations and Legacy Management, as well as several working groups of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations, including the Working Group on Human and Organisational Factors (WGHOF). The various NEA committees coordinate working groups of experts from the member countries. 2023 was the first year of work by the groups created following the reorganisation of the CNRA. Five working groups, two expert groups and an information exchange forum have thus begun their activities. ASN is involved in each of them and in particular chairs the working group on the nuclear procurement chain and the working group on reactor surveillance, and is vice-chair of the expert group on sharing operational experience feedback. 3.3 THE INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR REGULATORS’ ASSOCIATION (INRA) The International Nuclear Regulators Association (INRA) comprises the heads of the regulators of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. This association is a forum for regular and informal discussions concerning topical matters in these various countries and the positions adopted on common international issues. It meets twice a year in the country holding the Presidency, with each country acting as president for one year in turn. Two meetings were held in 2023. The first, held in Canada, discussed the situation of the nuclear installations in Ukraine, more particularly the Zaporizhzhia NPP, national news and issues from the members of the association, and SMR development projects. In this respect, in a joint public declaration, the INRA members recalled their desire to develop collaboration to allow joint evaluations of SMR models at a sufficiently advanced stage in their design, while recalling the need to preserve national sovereignty with regard to the issuing of authorisations. During the second meeting, held in the margins of the AIEA General Conference, the head of SNRIU presented the state of safety in the country’s nuclear installations, which led to a discussion on the impact of armed conflicts on the safety and security of nuclear installations. The members of INRA also tackled the issues related to maintaining safety culture and competence for NPP decommissioning programmes. 198 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023 • 06 • International relations
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