Decision 2007/198 - 2007/198/Euratom: Council Decision of 27 March 2007 establishing the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy and conferring advantages upon it - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 90/58

The Community, through strong, continuous and coordinated Community support from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) research and training programmes, together with the development of knowledge and human resources in the national fusion laboratories, working together notably in the framework of the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA), has created a single and fully integrated fusion research programme that has taken a leading international role in the development of fusion as a potentially limitless, safe, sustainable, environmentally responsible and economically competitive source of energy.

The establishment of the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion research project in 1978 (1), which has met or exceeded all of its design objectives including demonstrating the release of significant amounts of fusion energy in a controlled manner and going on to hold world records for both fusion power and energy, has demonstrated the added value of pooling resources and expertise at Community level in the form of a Joint Undertaking.

The Community has played a key role in the development of a next step international fusion project, the ITER, starting in 1988 with Conceptual Design Activities (2), continuing in 1992 with Engineering Design Activities (3) which were extended by three years in 1998 (4) and followed by a second agreement in 1994 (5) which, in 2001, produced a detailed, complete and fully integrated engineering design for a research facility aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of fusion as an energy source from which the Community could derive significant benefit, in particular in the context of ensuring the security and diversity of its long-term energy supply.

The seven parties to the ITER negotiations (Euratom, People's Republic of China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States), representing over one half of the world's population, have concluded the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organisation for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project (6) (the ITER Agreement) which establishes the ITER International Fusion Energy Organisation (the ITER Organisation) with headquarters in St Paul-lès-Durance (Bouches-du-Rhône) (France). The ITER Organisation has full responsibility for constructing, operating, exploiting and de-activating the ITER facilities.

The ITER Agreement requires all parties to provide contributions to the ITER Organisation through appropriate legal entities referred to as ‘Domestic Agencies’. To enable ITER construction to commence without delay and given that Euratom, as host party, will have special responsibilities as a member of the ITER Organisation including bearing the largest share of the contributions and the responsibility for the preparation of the site, the Domestic Agency of Euratom should be established as soon as possible.

Euratom and Japan have concluded a bilateral Agreement for the Joint Implementation of the Broader Approach Activities (the ‘Broader Approach Agreement with Japan’) setting out complementary joint fusion research activities as part of a ‘Broader Approach’ to the rapid realisation of fusion energy agreed during negotiations on the ITER Agreement. The Broader Approach Agreement with Japan...