The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management was open for signature from 29 September 1997 until its entry into force on 18 June 2001.

This Convention is now open for accession by regional organisations of an integration or other nature, provided that any such organisation is constituted by sovereign States and has competence in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and application of international agreements in matters covered by this Convention and the Community has chosen to accede.

In view of the tasks assigned to the Community by Chapter 3 ‘Health and Safety’ of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the accession of the European Atomic Energy Community to the Joint Convention should be approved.

When acceding to this Convention the European Atomic Energy Community will have to put forward a reservation with regard to the non-compliance of Article 12(1) of the Directive 92/3/Euratom on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Member States and into and out of the Community with the specific requirement in Article 27(1)(i) of the Joint Convention which requires the consent of the state of destination in the framework of transboundary movements.

When becoming party to this Convention, Article 39(4)(iii) of this Convention obliges such an organisation to communicate to the Depositary a declaration indicating which States are members thereof, which Articles of this Convention apply to it, and the extent of its competence in the field covered by those articles.

The competences, under the Joint Convention, of Member States as contracting parties to it will not be affected by the Community accession,