Federal government enters into management contract with nuclear institutions

The Belgian federal government has for the first time entered into management contracts with nuclear institutions IRE (National Institute for Radioelements) and SCK CEN (Belgian Nuclear Research Centre). The agreements must ensure more transparency and supervision.

The federal government will work more closely with Belgium's nuclear institutions in a bid to strengthen oversight of the sector and increase transparency. By entering into management contracts with IRE and SCK CEN, it is acting on earlier recommendations by the Court of Audit, which called for more monitoring and a better framework for the nuclear sector.

For the IRE, strategic objectives have been set in the areas of safety and security, waste management, nuclear decommissioning, research and sustainability. The agreement with SCK CEN focuses on innovation and the protection of employees, the public and the environment. In December 2021, a management contract was already signed with ONDRAF/NIRAS (Organisation for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials).

Belgium is currently taking the lead in the field of nuclear medicine. The new management agreements should ensure that Belgium remains at the forefront of the nuclear sector by promoting cooperation between research institutions and sustaining innovation, said Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten in a comment. 

^{Energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten during the signing of the first management contracts between the nuclear institutions SCK-CEN and IRE © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT}