ASNR takes part in the WENRA plenary meeting held on 8th and 9th April in Bled (Slovenia)

On 8^th and 9^th April 2025, ASNR, represented by Olivier Gupta, its Director General and Vice-Chairman of the association, and Luc Chanial, International Advisor to the Executive Committee, took part in the plenary meeting of WENRA, the Association of the Western European Nuclear Regulators.

Gathered in Bled (Slovenia) by SNSA, the Slovenian nuclear safety authority, the members of WENRA tackled several important topics.

Several thematic discussions were held at this meeting, in particular on:

• the conditions for applying the current criteria for association membership, in the light of recent expressions of interest by certain non-European nuclear safety authorities in joining WENRA as observers;
• the current situation regarding the safety of nuclear installations in Ukraine, in particular that of reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl following the bombing of the containment ark by the Russian army on 14 February, and that of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant;
• the level of safety required by the authorities to ensure adequate protection for people living around nuclear facilities, while taking into account the development of new types of reactors, such as small modular reactors;
• the arrangements for public participation in periodic safety reviews of nuclear installations and the respective responsibilities of operators and nuclear safety authorities in these periodic exercises;
• the guiding principles to be considered when implementing a cyber security approach applicable to nuclear installations;
• the continued operation of nuclear reactors beyond the age of 60; in particular, the process put in place by the NRC, the US nuclear safety authority, to authorise the operation of certain reactors up to the age of 80 was presented;
• the possibility of conducting joint safety assessments of new reactors; PAA, the Polish nuclear safety authority, presented its approach to take into account the work carried out by its American counterpart, the NRC, as part of its assessment of the AP1000 reactor model;
• the expectations, in terms of efficiency, placed on nuclear safety authorities to meet the challenges posed by the new international context, and the initiatives taken by certain WENRA members in this area.

The working groups reported on their respective activities. WENRA confirmed the work programme of the ad hoc group on skills and recruitment formed in spring 2023.