May 17 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Thursday it has decided to refer Croatia, Austria and Italy to the Court of Justice for failure to notify their final national programmes for the management of the spent fuel and radioactive waste, as required under EU law.
"This type of waste is also the byproduct of the non-power use of nuclear and radiation technologies, such as research in science and various medical applications. It is a priority for the Commission to ensure that the highest safety standards for radioactive waste and spent fuel management are in place," the EC said in its latest infringements package.
According to the EU's Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Directive, member states were required to notify their national programme for the first time to the Commission by August 23, 2015.
The Commission reminded Croatia, Italy and Austria of their obligation under the directive and asked them to provide clarifications on the procedures that had still to be undertaken before the adoption of their programmes, as well as the foreseen adoption and notification dates thereof.
As the three member states had only notified draft versions of their programmes, letters of formal notice were sent to them in April 2016 and were followed by reasoned opinions in July 2017.
"The Commission considers that it is for the authorities of these Member States to take all necessary measures to adopt their final national programme for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste and to notify it to the Commission," it concluded.