- European Atomic Energy Community
Infobox Geopolitical organization
native_name =
name =European Atomic Energy Community
map_caption = Current membership of Euratom
org_type = International Organisation
membership = 27 EU Members
admin_center =Brussels ,Belgium
languages_type = Official languages
languages = 23
established = 1958
established_event1 =Treaty of Rome
established_date1 = 1 January 1958
established_event2 =Merger Treaty
established_date2 = 1 July 1967
footnotes = Fully controlled by theEuropean Union Politics of the European UnionThe European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) is an international organisation which is semi-independent of, but completely controlled by, theEuropean Community pillar of theEuropean Union .It was established on 25 March 1957 along with the
European Economic Community (EEC) by theTreaty of Rome , being taken over by the executive institutions of the EEC in 1967 but continuing to legally exist separately even after theEuropean Communities were absorbed into theEuropean Union as a pillar in 1993.History
1967 Oil Embargo cut off a large portion of European energy supplies, exacerbated by lack of solidarity and uniformity in embargoing specific countries. As a result of the crisis, the Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community to cover other sources of energy. HoweverJean Monnet , ECSC architect and President, desired a separate community to coveratomic energy .Louis Armand was put in charge of a study into the prospects of nuclear energy use in Europe, his report concluded that further nuclear development was needed to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. However the Benelux states and Germany were also keen on creating a general common market, although it was opposed by France due to itsprotectionism and Jean Monnet thought it too large and difficult a task. In the end, both Monnet proposed the creating of both, as separate communities, to reconcile both groups. [ [http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=5599 1957-1968 Successes and crises]European NAvigator ]The
Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at Val Duchesse in 1956 drew up the essentials of the new treaties. Euratom would foster co-operation in the nuclear field, at the time a very popular area, and would, along with the EEC, share the Common Assembly and Court of Justice of the ECSC, but not its executives. Euratom would have its own Commission, with fewer powers than the ECSC's High Authority, and Council. On 25 March 1957, theTreaties of Rome were signed by the ECSC members and on 1 January 1958 they came into force. [ [http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=3054 A European Atomic Energy Community]European NAvigator ] [ [http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=398 The signing of the Rome Treaties] ENA] [ [http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=397 Drafting of the Rome Treaties]European NAvigator ]To save on resources, these separate executives created by the Rome Treaties were merged in 1967 by the
Merger Treaty . The institutions of the EEC would take over responsibilities for the running of the EEC and Euratom, with all three then becoming known as theEuropean Communities although each legally existed separately. In 1993, theMaastricht Treaty created the European Union, which absorbed the Communities into theEuropean Community pillar, yet Euratom still maintains a distinct legal personality and the treaty remains in force relatively un-amended from its original signing.The
European Constitution was intended to consolidate all previous treaties and increase democratic accountability in them. The Euratom had not been amended in the same way the other treaties had and hence theEuropean Parliament had been granted few powers of it. However, the reason it had gone unamended was the same reason the Constitution left it to remain separate from the rest of the EU: anti-nuclear sentiment among the European electorate which may unnecessarily turn voters against the treaty. [ [http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/euratom-nuking-europe-s-futur Euratom: nuking Europe's future | Greenpeace International ] ] [ [http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2003/MJ_03_March_declaration.htm Declaration_abolish_EURATOM ] ] . [ [http://www.eu-energy.com/euratom-reform.htm Euratom reform] ]Aims and achievements
The purposes of Euratom are to create a specialist market for
nuclear power and distribute it through the Community and to develop nuclear energy and sell surplus to non-Community States. Its major project is currently its participation in the international fusion reactorITER [ [http://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/ Fusion for Energy - Homepage ] ] financed under the nuclear part of FP7. Euratom also provides a mechanism for providing loans to finance nuclear projects in the EU.In European regulation's history Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty represents pioneering legislation concerning binding transfrontier obligations with respect to environmental impact and protection of humans [ [http://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/lw_resource/datapool/__pages/pdp_1407/atw-2008-06_HEUEL-FABIANEK.pdf Heuel-Fabianek, B., Kümmerle, E., Möllmann-Coers, M., Lennartz, R. (2008): The relevance of Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty for the dismantling of nuclear reactors. atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power 6/2008] ]
Presidents of the EAEC
The five member Commission was led by only three Presidents while it had independent executives (1958-1967), all from
France ;
*Louis Armand (France ) 1958-1959 - "Armand Commission "
*Étienne Hirsch (France ) 1959-1962- "Hirsch Commission "
*Pierre Chatenet (France ) 1962-1967- "Chatenet Commission "ee also
*
Institutions of the European Union
*History of the European Union
*EU Directorate General Joint Research Centre - often incorrectly referred to as Euratom due to EURATOM being its origin.
*European Energy Community
*Energy policy of the European Union
*Nuclear energy in the European Union
* The nuclear part of the The Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development, the European Union's chief instrument for funding research.References
External links
* [http://www.euratom.org/ European Atomic Energy Community website]
* [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/dat/12006A/12006A.html Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)]
* [http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=26671 History of the Rome Treaties] European NAvigator
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