This international treaty, which entered into force on 5 March 1970, establishes a system of nuclear safeguards, under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
It is the only multilateral commitment to nuclear disarmament amongst nations. The safeguards regime comprises activities through which the IAEA verifies that a country is complying with its international obligations and is not using nuclear programmes to manufacture nuclear weapons. Specifically, the objectives of the Treaty are: (a) the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; (b) nuclear disarmament; and (c) the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
With a view to strengthening its capacity to verify the peaceful use of nuclear materials held by member states, the IAEA has developed an additional instrument, the Additional Protocol. Although the Additional Protocol is not a standalone agreement, it strengthens the nuclear safeguards regime. By 3 May 2023, the Additional Protocol had entered into force in 141 countries and Euratom.
The IAEA, in implementing the Safeguards Regulation, is carrying out a series of measures aimed, on the one hand, at verifying national reports on declared nuclear material through an accounting and, and, on the other hand, to strengthen oversight through inspections (regular or ad hoc, with or without prior notice). The Additional Protocol grants the IAEA enhanced powers to implement the safeguards regime, such as the ability to grant an inspector ‘supplementary’ access for an inspector to all areas of a nuclear facility to detect undeclared nuclear material, or the possibility of using internationally established communication systems, such as satellites.
The Euratom Treaty entered into force on 1 January 1958 and provides, amongst other things, ensuring that nuclear materials intended for peaceful use are not diverted to other uses, in particular military ones. Signing the Euratom Treaty is a prerequisite for new Member States to join the European Union. The European Commission, on the basis of the articles of the Euratom Treaty, adopted Regulation (Euratom) No 302/2005 implementing the provisions on safeguards.
The European Commission sends the IAEA information relating to the nuclear materials of its Member States. In addition, it prepares and compiles the periodic reports from EU Member States before forwarding them to the IAEA. Consequently, our country does not communicate directly with the IAEA, but through the European Commission. For this reason, organisations falling within the scope of the Safeguards Regulation are required to submit reports directly to the European Commission.
The EEAE, with the aim of providing clarification regarding the ‘Regulation (Euratom) No 302/2005 of the European Commission on the implementation of the provisions relating to Euratom safeguards – Safeguards’, has issued a document clarifying which organisations may fall within the scope of the safeguards regulation and their obligations towards the European Commission.
