Recital 7

(7)Scientific review conducted by experts ⁷ concluded that technical screening criteria for nuclear energy related economic activities should ensure that no significant harm is done to other environmental objectives due to potential risks arising from the long-term storageand final disposal of nuclear waste. Those technical screening criteria should therefore reflect the highest standards of nuclear safety, radiation protection and radioactive waste management, building upon requirements laid down in the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (‘Euratom Treaty’) and in legislation adopted under that Treaty, and in particular in Council Directive 2009/71/Euratom ⁸ . That Directive contains a high-level nuclear safety objective covering all stages of the life-cycle of each nuclear installation, including the siting, design, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of such installations. In particular, that Directive calls for significant safety enhancements in the design of new reactors, including the so-called Generation III+ reactors, for which state of the art knowledge and technology should be used, taking into account the latest international safety requirements. Those requirements provide for an effective implementation of the nuclear safety objective, including the application of the defence-in-depth principle and of an effective safety culture. Those requirements ensure that the impact of extreme human-made and natural hazards, including earthquakes and floods, is minimised and that accidents, abnormal operations and failures or loss of control systems are prevented, inter alia, by protective structures or back-up cooling and electricity supply systems.