COMMISSION DECISION
of 15 July 2010
on the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning the EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform)
(2010/398/Euratom)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 199, thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Under the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community Article 35 Member States are obliged to establish facilities to carry out continuous monitoring of the radioactivity in the environment on their territory, and the Commission has the right of access to such facilities.
(2)
The European Commission has, in this context, developed a common data format called EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform) as well as an appropriate Internet based network in order to facilitate continuous and seamless exchange of data provided by the national automatic dose rate monitoring networks and the environment radiation surveillance programmes, that have been in use in the European Atomic Energy Community for several years and are now considered mature enough for expansion.
(3)
The European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have expressed a mutual determination to significantly reinforce the quality and intensity of their cooperation in a Joint Statement signed in 2008.
(4)
Radiation protection, including making worldwide real time radiation monitoring data available, has been identified as one of the specific priority areas of cooperation.
(5)
Using the proven technology developed by the European Commission for EURDEP is an excellent way to facilitate automatic exchange of data, and represents an important contribution to the global development of environmental radioactivity monitoring.
(6)
Making EURDEP technology available to the IAEA is in the European Atomic Energy Community’s interest, since through the IAEA contribution the European network participants will have access to the environmental radioactivity monitoring data from all over the world.
(7)
In this context, the present Memorandum of Understanding has been developed, in the context of the relations between Euratom and the IAEA, to cover the technical aspects of the cooperation between the IAEA and Euratom on EURDEP.
(8)
No financial implications or legal obligations are incurred on the basis of the present Memorandum of Understanding,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
The Memorandum of Understanding in annex between the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning the EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform) is approved.
Article 2
The Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger signs the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning the EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform) on behalf of the Commission.
Done at Brussels, 15 July 2010.