Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA)

Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA)

WENRA is the association of nuclear safety regulatory and control authorities in Europe, a non-governmental association made up of the heads and members of the nuclear regulatory authorities of the European states that have nuclear power plants.

The major objectives pursued by WENRA are to develop a common approach to nuclear safety and to the regulations in this field within the European Union, and to provide an independent assessment of nuclear safety in the Member States of the European Union.

WENRA was created in 1999 and initially comprised the regulatory bodies of 10 countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Romania, through the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control, took part as an observer in WENRA meetings from the time of its establishment, becoming a full member in 2003.

In the exercise of its responsibilities, WENRA draws up technical reports on the regulatory regime and on the assessment of nuclear safety. WENRA carries out its work both in biannual plenary meetings and within the four expert-level working groups: the Group for the harmonization of the nuclear safety concept for nuclear power reactors (RHWG), the Group for nuclear research reactors (WGRR), and the Group for the harmonization of the concept of safety of radioactive waste management (WGWD).