217 



SUPRANATIONAL OWNERSHIP OF NUCLEAR FUEL MATERIALS 



The Treaty of Rome gave Euratom exclusive right of ownership to 

 enriched uranium and plutonium within the Community, except for 

 materials for military purposes, and also gave Euratom a first option 

 to buy ores and unprocessed nuclear fuel materials. Euratom's exclu- 

 sive ownership extends to all nuclear fuel materials whether produced 

 in the Community or imported into it, except for weapons materials. 206 

 Under the Treaty, Euratom has authority to: (1) exercise security 

 control over the use of nuclear fuel materials; (2) direct the appropri- 

 ate storage of such materials; and (3) forbid their export whenever 

 contrary to Community interests. 



SUPPLYING NUCLEAR MATERIALS 



If nuclear power was to become a commercial reality in Europe and 

 to attain the goals in A Target for Euratom, there had to be reliable 

 arrangements for supply of nuclear fuel materials. To this end the 

 Treaty authorized creation of an autonomous Euratom Supply Agency 

 under the control and direction of the Euratom Commission. 207 Estab- 

 lished on June 1, 1960, the Supply Agency's primary function is to as- 

 sure equal access to nuclear fuel for all users within the Community. 

 The Agency is headed by a director general appointed by Euratom. 

 With an initial capital investment of $2.4 million, the Agency operates 

 on commercial principles as a public utility. It has a right of option to 

 buy all ores and manufactured fuel materials produced in the Com- 

 munity and an exclusive right to contract for the supply of nuclear fuel 

 materials, whether originating in the Community or imported. Prices 

 for its products are expected to reflect normal supply and demand, 

 although the Commission can propose price fixing with EEC approval. 

 Discriminatory pricing is forbidden within the Community. The 

 Agency also maintains records and accounts of nuclear fuel materials 

 used or transferred within the Community. 



The potentially powerful supply functions of the agency have not 

 been fully exercised. Contributing factors include the glut of uranium 

 upon the world market of the 1960's, France's independent manufac- 

 ture of enriched uranium for its nuclear weapons, and the failure to 

 build Euratom facilities to produce enriched uranium. The effect of 

 these factors was to confine the Supply Agency to a middleman func- 

 tion of negotiating arrangements with non-Community countries to 

 supply nuclear fuel materials. 



EURATOM MANUFACTURE OF ENRICHED URANIUM 



Early expectations that Euratom would build and operate its own 

 enrichment plant to supply part of the nuclear fuel for Europe were 

 disappointing. U.S. policy, which was to discourage this venture, ap- 

 parently was influential at first. However, by the later 1960s the Com- 

 munity was restive over its dependence upon the United States as a 



206 Articles 84 and 86. But a dispute between France and Euratom, infra, indicates inter- 

 pretation of these articles is not without ambiguity. 



207 Articles 54-76. 



