In line with the general objective, support to joint research activities concerning the safe operation and decommissioning of reactor systems (including fuel cycle facilities) in use in the Union or, to the extent necessary in order to maintain broad nuclear safety expertise in the Union, those reactor types which may be used in the future, focusing exclusively on safety aspects, including all aspects of the fuel cycle such as partitioning and transmutation.

Joint and/or coordinated research activities on remaining key aspects of geological disposal of spent fuel and long-lived radioactive waste with, as appropriate, demonstration of technologies and safety. Those activities are to promote the development of a common Union view on the main issues related to waste management from discharge of fuel to disposal.

Research activities related to management of other radioactive waste streams for which industrially mature processes currently do not exist.

Promoting joint training and mobility activities between research centres and industry, and between different Member and Associated States, as well as support for maintaining multi-disciplinary nuclear competences in order to guarantee the availability of suitably qualified researchers, engineers and employees in the nuclear sector in the Union in the long term.

Joint and/or coordinated research activities, in particular those regarding the risks from low doses from industrial, medical or environmental exposure, on emergency management in relation to accidents involving radiation, and on radioecology, to provide a pan-European scientific and technological basis for a robust, equitable and socially acceptable system of protection.

Research activities on medical applications of ionising radiation and addressing the operational safety aspects of radiation protection and their utilisation.

Supporting common research activities undertaken by members of the European Fusion Development Agreement and any of the entities referred to under paragraph (i) to ensure the swift start of high performance operation of ITER including the use of relevant facilities (including JET, the Joint European Torus), of integrated modelling using, among others, high performance computers, and training activities to prepare the next generation of researchers and engineers.

Supporting joint activities undertaken by members of the European Fusion Development Agreement and any of the entities referred to under paragraph (i) to develop and qualify materials for a demonstration power plant requiring, inter alia, preparatory work for an appropriate material test facility and negotiations for the Union's participation in a suitable international framework for that facility. Such development and qualifications are to make use of all possible levels of the experimental, computational and theoretical capacities available.

Supporting joint research activities undertaken by members of the European Fusion Development Agreement and any of the entities referred to under paragraph (i) that will address reactor operation issues and will develop and demonstrate all relevant technologies for a fusion demonstration power plant. Those activities include the preparation of complete demonstration power plant conceptual designs and exploration of the potential of stellarators as a power plant technology.

Implementing or supporting knowledge management and technology transfer from the research co-funded by the Euratom Programme to industry exploiting all innovative aspects of the research.

Promoting innovation through, inter alia, open access to scientific publications, a database for knowledge management and dissemination and promoting technology topics in educational programmes.

In the long term, the Euratom Programme is to support the preparation and development of a competitive nuclear fusion industrial sector facilitating the involvement of the private sector as well as SMEs where appropriate, in particular through the implementation of a technology road map to a fusion power plant with active industrial involvement in the design and development projects.

Activities supporting the construction, refurbishment, use and continued availability of key research infrastructures under the Euratom Programme, as well as appropriate access to those infrastructures and cooperation between them.

A grant (Programme co-fund action) is to be awarded to the legal entities established or designated by Member States and any third country associated to the Euratom Programme and that will develop a joint programme of activities implementing the roadmap towards the goal of electricity production by 2050. That grant may include resources in kind from the Community, such as scientific and technical exploitation of the JET facility in accordance with Article 10 of the Treaty, or the secondment of Commission staff.

The JRC will contribute to the development of tools and methods to achieve high safety standards for nuclear installations and fuel cycles relevant to Europe. Those tools and methods will include:

1. (1)

   severe accident analyses modelling and methodologies for assessment of nuclear installations' operational safety margins; supporting the establishment of a common European approach to the evaluation of advanced fuel cycles and designs; and investigation and dissemination of the lessons learnt from operational experience. The JRC will further pursue its 'European Clearinghouse on NPP Operational Experience Feedback' to focus its activities on post-Fukushima nuclear safety challenges, appealing to the Members States' competences in this area;

2. (2)

   minimisation of the scientific uncertainties in the prediction of long-term behaviour of nuclear waste and of the dispersion of radionuclides in the environment; and key aspects of research on decommissioning of nuclear installations;

3. (3)

   exchange with relevant stakeholders for strengthening Union capacity to respond to nuclear accidents and incidents by research on alert systems and models for radiological dispersion in the air, and by mobilising resources and expertise for analysing and modelling nuclear accidents.

The area of non-proliferation must receive the greatest possible attention. The JRC will:

1. (1)

   develop enhanced methodologies and detection/verification methods and technologies to support the Community safeguards and strengthen international safeguards;

2. (2)

   develop and apply enhanced methods and technology to prevent, detect and respond to nuclear and radioactive incidents, including qualification of detection technology and development of nuclear forensics methods and techniques in the fight against illicit trafficking in synergies with the global CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) framework;

3. (3)

   support the implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and Union-related strategies through analysis studies and follow-up of the technical evolution of export control regimes to support relevant Commission and Union services.

The JRC will further develop the scientific basis for nuclear safety and security. Emphasis will be given to research on fundamental properties and behaviour of actinides, structural and nuclear materials. In supporting Union standardisation, the JRC will provide state-of-the-art nuclear standards, reference data and measurements, including the development and implementation of relevant databases and assessment tools. The JRC will support the further development of medical applications, namely new cancer therapies based on alpha irradiation.

The JRC must stay abreast of new developments in research and instrumentation, safety and environmental regulations. To that effect, a rolling investment plan for the scientific infrastructures must be implemented.

In order to maintain the Union at the forefront of nuclear safety and security, the JRC must develop knowledge management tools, monitor Union trends in human resources through its Nuclear Human Resources Observatory and deliver dedicated training and education programmes, covering also decommissioning aspects.

The JRC must foster its expertise and excellence in order to provide independent scientific and technical evidence which might be necessary to support Union policy on nuclear safety and security.

As the Euratom Implementing Agent for the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), the JRC will continue to coordinate the Community contribution to GIF. The JRC will pursue and further develop international research cooperation with key partner countries and international organizations (IAEA, OECD/NEA) in order to promote the Union's nuclear safety and security policies.