EURATOM-Research and Training Programme 2028-2032

Key points

The EESC:

• calls for proper funding for companies of all sizes and the involvement of a range of actors in collaborative and cross-border research and innovation partnerships, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of European industrial ecosystems and the EU’s economic security;
• perceives the development of fusion energy to be a crucial funding item of the Programme and considers it important to support the EU’s role in ITER, with the aim of strengthening the European fusion energy ecosystem in the global context and accelerating the market uptake and deployment of fusion energy in the EU;
• emphasises the need for proper funding for the development of other nuclear technologies in the energy sector, including Small and Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs and AMRs), advanced fuels and materials, and safe solutions for the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, with specific emphasis on the nuclear fuel cycle;
• encourages focusing resources on the development and uptake of nuclear technologies for non-power purposes, such as applications in the medical, space, agriculture and industrial sectors; considers risk prevention and preparedness and the protection of people and the environment against safety and security risks as cross-cutting objectives of the Programme and calls for awareness to be raised of nuclear issues through communication and interaction with civil society representatives;
• calls for due investment in the development of skills and competences in the nuclear field, with the aim of ensuring the availability of both world-class talent and a qualified workforce; to this end, encourages nuclear issues to be integrated into education at all levels and the attractiveness of nuclear professions to be promoted, while also enhancing cross-border mobility and networking through high-level research and technology infrastructure.