Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts at Euratom on (a) the future ownership of Euratom’ s inspectors and equipment in the UK, (b) future arrangements for special fissile materials and (c) future arrangements for used fuel and radioactive waste.

The Department has held a number of rounds of discussions with the European Commission on legal issues related to nuclear material and safeguards as part of the first phase of EU Exit negotiations. These issues have included the future ownership of Euratom safeguards equipment, the ownership of special fissile materials, and the legal responsibility for spent fuel and radioactive waste. Progress in these discussions was set out in the ‘Joint Report On Progress During Phase 1 Of Negotiations Under Article 50 TEU On The UK’s Orderly Withdrawal From The EU’, published on 8 December 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665869/Joint_report_on_progress_during_phase_1_of_negotiations_under_Article_50_TEU_on_the_United_Kingdom_s_orderly_withdrawal_from_the_European_Union.pdf.

The next phase of negotiations is expected to commence shortly.