The Western European Nuclear Regulators’ Association (WENRA) states it position on the safety goals for new nuclear reactors

Their position is based on a study published by WENRA in January 2010. It was the subject of a public consultation and also takes comments received from stakeholders into consideration.

Seven ambitious qualitative safety goals were ratified. WENRA considers that the design of new nuclear reactors must take feedback from the operation of present-day reactors into account, as well as lessons learnt from past accidents and events, developments in nuclear technology, and progress in the field of safety evaluation.

The members of WENRA made a commitment to the implementation of these goals, which are presented in the declaration adopted on 10th November, in any nuclear reactors built in Europe in the years to come.

The meeting also provided confirmation that WENRA's members are interested in working on safety in research reactors and on comparing the inspection practices of different countries.

ASN is actively involved in efforts to harmonise the principles and standards that apply to nuclear safety and radiation protection. ASN considers that this position is likely to favour harmonisation and to bolster nuclear safety in Europe at a time when several reactor construction projects have been announced.

[1] Created in February 1999 on the initiative of ASN, WENRA (Western European Nuclear Regulators’ Association) unites the directors of the nuclear safety authorities in the 17 European countries equipped with nuclear power reactors: Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.