The Assembly thanks the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) for the third Report to the Assembly on the activities of the European Nuclear Energy Agency (ENEA).
The Assembly, aware that the changes which have come about in the European energy situation and in the relative costs of nuclear and conventional electricity generation have resulted in a general slowing down of programmes for the construction of atomic power stations, nonetheless desires to stress the importance, from the point of view of the long-term security of energy supplies, of maintaining the amount of joint research being carried out on the utilisation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and attaches the utmost importance to making progress in the field of harnessing nuclear fusion; in this connection the Assembly welcomes the realisation of the first joint enterprises in the framework of ENEA, and looks forward to the contribution to scientific knowledge that these enterprises should provide.
The Assembly welcomes the continuing work of the Agency towards establishing common European safety standards for exposure to radioactivity, for disposal of radioactive wastes, and for prompt notification of nuclear incidents which might create dangers for health. Furthermore, it welcomes the signature by sixteen member States of OEEC of a Convention dealing with third party liability for nuclear accidents, and expresses its hope that appropriate arrangements will be brought into force in each State as soon as possible.
Finally, the Assembly notes the work already carried out by the Agency in the field of calculating nuclear energy costs, and stresses the importance and urgency which it attaches to securing further improvements in the field of European energy forecasting generally.