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Nuclear Transparency Watch

Prevent and anticipate through transparency and participation

Action Plan 2026

At the last General Assembly of NTW in October 2025, a draft Action Plan was proposed to the members based on the past and ongoing actions as well as on the projects for the future. After a collective review, the Action Plan was finalized and approved during a general meeting mid-December.

Indeed, NTW’s Action Plan 2026 “builds on its 2025 achievements while addressing emerging challenges from war-zone nuclear risks to SMR hype, waste management and transparency and public participation. To achieve this, it becomes necessary to empower civil society, to demand accountability, and to foster meaningful dialogue to ensure that nuclear governance in Europe remains safe, transparent, and democratic”.

Click here to read the Plan which includes a presentation of the organisation within NTW.

Nuclear Transparency Watch’s contribution to OECD-NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshops

NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshops

Click here to read Nuclear Transparency Watch‘s contribution for the last and latest Stakeholder Involvement Workshop of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) held in Paris during October 2025.

Background

In October 2025, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) held its Fourth NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Optimisation in Decision Making: From Insight to Action as the latest of a series of events that began in 2017 seeking to foster dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders in the nuclear sector.

In fact, the Third NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop on Optimisation in Decision Making, which took place in Paris from 5–7 September 2023 – read the Summary Report – and where Nuclear Transparency Watch was actively involved, brought together 120 participants from 23 countries, including representatives from regulators, operators, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and indigenous communities. Discussions centred on creating a framework for decisions that are optimised, inclusive and sustainable.

In 2025, NTW has also actively contributed to the Fourth NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop, which took place in Paris, on 15–17 October 2025 with a focus on developing a practical framework for optimised decision making, by participating to three preparatory webinars exploring key factors that contribute to power imbalances and their mitigation when engaging stakeholders in nuclear decision making. Each webinar attracted approximately 50 participants, offering focused discussions.

 

4th Stakeholder Involvement Workshop (SIW)

The three-day Fourth NEA Stakeholder Involvement Workshop featured:

  • plenary presentations by leading experts;
  • open dialogues facilitating meaningful discussion; and
  • moderated panel discussions offering diverse perspectives.

Participants were representatives from government bodies, industry, academic and research institutions, NGOs, international organisations and civil society to foster a broad and inclusive dialogue. The workshop outcomes will be compiled into a publicly available report, contributing to the ongoing discourse on the role of stakeholder engagement in the optimisation of decision making in the nuclear sector.

NTW’s position paper on 4th SIW

As a European civil society organisation that advocates for nuclear safety and transparency, Nuclear Transparency Watch contributed to the Fourth Stakeholder Involvement Workshop with a position paper titled From Transparency to Trust addressing the following points:

  • Transparency and Trust
  • Lessons from Civil Society Experience
  • Practical Pathways towards Trust
  • Role of Civil Society in Nuclear Governance
  • Looking Forward
  • Takeaway Message

 

 

New academic article written by two NTW members on the societal aspects of radon and NORM

Translating social science into policy: Recommendations for managing societal aspects of radon and NORM

Tanja Perko, Nadja Zeleznik (NTW Chairwoman) and Peter Mihok (NTW member) have translated recent social science and humanities research (2020–2025) into evidence-based recommendations for policymakers managing societal aspects of radon and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM).

By bridging the gap between researchers and decision-makers, this work ensures that radon and NORM policies are informed by robust evidence, context-sensitive insights, and tested approaches.

Full paper -> Click here

newpublication scientificpaper radon NORM SSH policy decisionmaking

Feedback to the European Commission’s call for evidence on SMRs

In February 2024, the Commission launched the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to “ensure the successful deployment of the first SMR projects in Europe by the early 2030s”. In fact, the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors has adopted its first Strategic Action Plan, outlining ten specific and targeted actions to deliver over the next five years.

Looking to “highlight key enabling conditions, potential barriers and concrete milestones in view of the future development and deployment of SMRs in Europe” the European Commission has opened a feedback period between 06 November 2025 – 04 December 2025 for the public.

In this context, Nuclear Transparency Watch (NTW) and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) have jointly proposed a feedback underlining important aspects to be addressed when it comes to SMRs. You will find a synthesis of their contribution below (Click here to read the complete feedback):

“As organizations dedicated to transparency, public participation, and democratic decision-making in nuclear activities, NTW and EEB are highlighting the risks, inefficiencies, and democratic deficits associated with SMR development. In fact, they encourage the EU to prioritize renewable energy, energy efficiency, and demand-side solutions—technologies that are proven, cost-effective, and aligned with climate goals—rather than investing in unproven and high-risk nuclear technologies.

Key Concerns with the SMR Strategy
1. Safety Risks
2. Financial Risks
3. Harmonization and Industrial Challenges
4. Lack of Openness, Civil Society Participation and Public Debate

The European Commission’s SMR strategy lacks transparency, democratic legitimacy, and economic rationale.
Instead of pursuing costly, unproven, and risky nuclear technologies, the EU must:
1. Prioritize real climate solutions—renewables, storage, and efficiency – over SMRs that may not be operational before 2040 and not as low carbon as promoted.
2. Uphold strict safety and environmental standards with no deregulation for SMRs.
3. Ensure full financial accountability: developers must bear all risks, not taxpayers.
4. Address nuclear waste and supply chain challenges with no false promises on “solving” nuclear’s inherent problems.
5. Prioritize open, inclusive decision-making: civil society must have a real seat at the table where critical thinking and democratic debates should take place with no more industry-driven narratives without scrutiny.

In short, the EU’s energy future must be transparent, participatory, and sustainable while SMRs fail on all counts. Therefore, we urge the Commission to seriously revise this very flawed strategy.”

Contribution to the Review of the EU Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act

NTW has contributed to the review of the EU Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act which is open for public comments until 5 December 2026:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14874-Sustainable-investment-review-of-the-EU-taxonomy-environmental-delegated-act_en

Click here to find the contribution which in short calls on the European Commission to:

  1. Exclude nuclear energy from the EU Taxonomy due to its unsustainable and high-risk nature.
  2. Strengthen transparency by requiring verifiable, science-based evidence for all technical screening criteria.
  3. Enforce compliance with EU and Euratom laws on nuclear safety, waste management, and public participation.
  4. Update LCA methodologies to reflect real-world environmental impacts of nuclear energy.
  5. Prioritize renewable energy as the cornerstone of a sustainable and democratic energy transition.

Finally, NTW always welcomes any possibility enabling more transparency, public participation, and environmental justice in energy policymaking.

Concerns about potential inclusion of nuclear energy in EIB Green financing

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invited the public to give its views on its policies and strategies. In fact, the new proposed institutional and operational policies as well as strategies for the countries of operations and sectors in which they invest are made available for public comment (for more information click here).

Based on its GET 2021-25, a systemic approach to supporting the transition to resilient, low-carbon economies, the EBRD has developed a methodology for green finance attribution to set out how the Bank determines whether or not EBRD finance should be classified as green, how to estimate the outcomes of green finance, and how to define plans for monitoring the delivery of those outcomes. This methodology is updating the previous “Technical Guide – Implementing the Green Economy Transition” and its annexes since August 2025 and it is now currently available for public comment.

In this context, supporting this effort of transparency and collaboration from EBRD in refining their methodology, NTW wanted to provide its comments and feedback on this updated methodology specifically in relation to nuclear energy to participate to strengthening the robustness and effectiveness of their green finance commitments.

Therefore, you will find here NTW’ submission on EBRD green finance attribution underlining 4 important reasons advocating against the possibility to consider the nuclear energy as sustainable or “green”:
1 – Radioactive waste and next generation
2 – Taxonomy and Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle
3 – Transparency in the cost of nuclear power
4 – Nuclear energy and climate change

Hybrid event on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

🚨Check out Nuclear Transparency Watch latest video on an hybrid event dedicated to cross-cutting views on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)☢️:

Thanks to Alexis Geisler-Roblin who moderated this event, complementary contributions were shared by speakers from the French 🇫🇷 national agency for radioactive waste management l’ANDRA, from the new French 🇫🇷 regulator and technical support organisation l’ASNR, from the environmental NGO – member of NTW – Friends of the Earth Estonia 🇪🇪 and from the NGO based in the USA 🇺🇸 Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
The event address key questions such as perspectives on projects, waste management or regulations aspects. You will find below the presentations provided by the 4 speakers:
SMRs globally and in Estonia by Madis Vasser (FoE Estonia)
SMRs and waste in France by Virgine Wasselin (ANDRA)
Adaption to the regulatory framework in France by Philippe Dupuy (ASNR)
👉 for more info from ASNR on this click here (only in French for the moment)
US-Nuclear-Regulations by Tim Judson (NIRS)
👉 for more info from NRIS on this click here

📕 Book release – Transparency and Public Participation for Radioactive Waste Management in Europe

Some members of NTW have collectively published a book, on Transparency and Public Participation for Radioactive Waste Management in Europe investigating how the pillars of the Aarhus Convention, and a broader understanding of transparency by Civil Society (CS), can be transposed into Radioactive Waste Management (RWM), particularly in the establishment of Radioactive Waste (RW) facilities in different national contexts.

With an analysis of nine national cases from Europe, the book provides the results of the investigations, including comments, suggestions, questions, and other observations, collected in interaction with other EURAD-1 participants from civil society. It discusses the feedback provided within a questionnaire completed by ROUTES members for the development of national programmes on radioactive waste management submitted to the waste directive, based on effective access to information, public participation, justice, resources, and transparency.

4 out of the 7 authors of the book with a copy of it during the NEA-OECD stakeholder involvement workshop in Paris (October 2025).
4 out of the 7 authors of the book with a copy of it during the NEA-OECD stakeholder involvement workshop in Paris (October 2025)

The book will interest nuclear energy policymakers, government employees, and radioactive waste management facility operators. It will also aid researchers and academics investigating public perception and facility siting considerations.

Citizen scientist Andrey Ozharovskii detained by Mongolian authorities after measuring radiation levels near uranium mines

Nuclear Transparency Watch, including our colleague Jan Haverkamp, has published an open letter regarding the arrest of physicist and environmentalist Andrey Ozharovskii in Mongolia.

Andrey Ozharovskii was detained by Mongolian authorities while measuring radiation levels with a personal dosimeter near uranium mining sites operated by the French company Orano. Although released, his passport has not been returned, and he faces uncertainty about his freedom of movement.

Ozharovskii’s activities form part of a long-standing European tradition of “citizen science” in the nuclear field: independent experts and local communities taking radiation measurements to help ensure transparency, safety, and accountability. Nuclear Transparency Watch and its members have supported such initiatives across Europe in cooperation with regulators, laboratories, and NGOs.

The principle at stake is simple but crucial: environmental information, including radiation data, must be accessible to the public. This is at the heart of the Aarhus Convention, the international treaty guaranteeing the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice on environmental matters. Under its Article 3(8), people exercising these rights must not face persecution or harassment.

Mongolia is currently considering accession to the Aarhus Convention. This incident highlights why such commitments matter: ensuring that those who act to protect the public and the environment can do so without fear. At this moment, Andrey Ozharovskii should regain access to his ability to travel freely.

You can read the open letter here.

Rolling stewardship in radioactive waste management

In the frame of the EU joint programme on radioactive waste management EURAD-1, the NTW members involved, together with other civil society members and EURAD participants, addressed aspects of rolling stewardship in radioactive waste management in the context of research and fruitful Interactions with Civil Society (ICS) methodology.

This helped in developing the following outputs within the 2 “strategic studies” work packages in which NTW was participating:

In parallel, NTW also launched a working group on this topic in which several presentations have been made by knowledgeable speakers from various backgrounds and with complementary knowledge such as Robert Del Tredici, Dr. Gordon Edwards, Marcos Buser, Reinhard Uberhost or Maryna Surkova. For NTW, Niels Henrik Hooge and Gilles Hériard-Dubreuil also provided some inputs.

The following presentations proposed in this working group are also available on NTW’s You Tube channel:

  • Webinar #1
    “Human uncertainties relevant to the safety associated with radioactive waste management and Rolling Stewardship”
    by Niels Henrik Hooge Master of Laws and Master of Arts in Philosophy. Interested in environmental and sustainability for a long time he has manifested itself in activism, cooperation with green NGOs in Denmark and abroad, as well as in many types of writing. In addition to editorial staff work in Danish environmental magazines, he has published several books, including most recently the novel “Kosova” (2016) and the poetry collections “Grøn nation” (Green Nation, 2015), “Miljødigte” (Environmental Poems, 2018) and “Miljødigte 2” (Environmental Poems 2, 2019).
    “The origin and evolution of the concept of Rolling Stewardship”
    by Ph.D. in Mathematics and Master of Arts in English Literature, Gordon Edwards, who has been a Professor of Mathematics and Science during all his career during which he did many publications in that field but not only. From 1970 to 1974, he was the editor of Survival magazine. In 1975 he co-founded the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility and has been its president since 1978. Edwards has worked widely as a consultant on nuclear issues and has been qualified as a nuclear expert by courts in Canada and elsewhere.
  • Webinar #2 – part 1 

    “Darkness, Visibility, and Transparency”
    by Robert del Tredici has a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature at the University of California, and he has been a teacher for much of his life, giving courses in Photography, Drawing, Mythology, and History of Animated Film at the University of Calgary in Alberta and at Vanier College and Concordia University in Montreal. He is and has been a prolific graphic artist and documentary photographer: The People of Three Mile Island (1980), At Work in the Fields of the Bomb (1987), Closing the Circle on the Splitting-off the Atom (1993); Linking Legacies (1995); From Cleanup to Stewardship (1997).

    Webinar #2 – part 2 
    “History of disposal projects and need for stewardship”
    by Marcos Buser, a geologist with a degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, also consultant and expert who has been active for more than four decades in the management of industrial and radioactive waste projects, and a former member of several scientific commissions for the Swiss government, including the Swiss Federal Commission for Nuclear Safety. He was a member of the StocaMine steering committee.

  • Webinar #3
    “An Introduction to Safety Culture – a possible resource for Rolling Stewardship of Radioactive Waste Management ?”
    by Gilles Hériard Dubreuil, born in 1957, has a background in mathematics and human sciences (sociology, ethics, risk management). From 1982 to 1990, he worked for various consulting firms, then for Mutadis from 1991 onwards, developing research and consultancy activities in the fields of governance of high-risk activities and sustainable development, as well as in the design and testing of democratic governance systems at local, national and international levels.
    “Rolling Stewardship – Safety Culture ; a regulatory perspective”
    by Maryna Surkova a professional at the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) in Belgium where she oversees nuclear safety and regulatory affairs within the Ghent metropolitan area. Maryna holds qualifications from the SCK CEN Academy for Nuclear Science and Technology. With a strong technical and regulatory background, she ensures compliance with national and international nuclear standards. Based in Belgium, she combines scientific expertise with policy implementation to support FANC’s mission.

In fact, NTW has envisioned connected topic related to the concept of Rolling Stewardship addressing challenges of the long-term engagement and maintenance in various way, such as “Intergenerational Stewardship” or “Long-term Stewardship” for instance. This work is meant to be continued within the same platforms which were previously used such as the SITEX.network and EURAD but also with any interested partners such as researchers specialized in environmental stewardship or in radioactive waste management in the long term.

In order to help further research on this topic, Niels Henrik-Hooge, has developed a paper providing a synthetical overview of the different concepts and perspectives related to radioactive waste management in the long-term such as “Intergenerational Stewardship culture”, “Rolling stewardship” or “Long-term Stewardship”: ➡️ Rolling stewardship and management of radioactive waste in the long-term ⬅️

This is why, a « stewardship culture » could be defined as a democratic and sustainable way to inclusively and pluralistically roll accountability and management across generations in the long term, in the spirit of the Aarhus Convention.

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