6 Outlook For ASN, the year 2024 was a busy one internationally. Numerous meetings with its counterparts enabled ASN to discuss its practices and share the challenges of the new nuclear context and the constant rise in the introduction of innovative technologies – such as AI – in the nuclear sector. The question of the required level of safety, within a context of renewal of the nuclear sector in certain countries and their growing interest in SMRs, as well as the methods for collaboration between the nuclear safety regulators, were frequently debated. The challenges and issues linked to the potential service life extension of existing nuclear reactors beyond the initial design lifetime, were also extensively covered. ASN’s presence in the multilateral bodies in Europe (ENSREG, WENRA, HERCA) and internationally (IAEA, NEA) was also considerable, and ASN frequently promoted an innovative position and strong messages designed to guarantee that safety remains an absolute priority. 2025 will no doubt be a year of significant transition for the new ASNR. The foundations of ASNR are the combined expertise of ASN and IRSN and it will need to build its legitimacy and credibility in its new areas of competence expanded to include research, expert assessment and regulation. At the international level, its new international department, resulting from the merger of the ASN international relations department and the IRSN European and international affairs department, will have a central role to play, with both the ASNR Commission and its Executive Committee, regarding international strategy and positioning. In this particular context, ASNR will have a major role to play in the various international bodies. In bilateral terms, ASN intends to welcome several of its counterparts, including the Chinese and Indian authorities. At the multilateral level, several important events are planned, including the Joint Convention review meeting in March, and various exchanges as part of Phase II of the NHSI which will begin in 2025. In the particular field of SMRs, ASN will continue to promote its vision of the safety objectives within various international frameworks. Given that their inherent characteristics are liable to offer increased performance in terms of safety, and the fact that, depending on their purpose, these reactors could be built close to densely populated or industrial areas, ASN considers that the safety objectives applicable to SMRs must be more stringent than those applied to the Generation III and III plus reactors. Whenever necessary, it will share this position. At the international level, 2025 promises to be a particular year for ASNR, which will have to consolidate its internal organisation on the one hand, and build new relationships on the other. CFS meeting at Mont Terri (Switzerland) – May 2024 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2024 207 International relations 06 01 02 03 04 05 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 AP
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