Euratom facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids European Atomic Energy Community Европейска общност за атомна енергия (Bulgarian) Europska zajednica za atomsku energiju (Croatian) Evropské společenství pro atomovou energii (Czech) Europæiske Atomenergifællesskab (Danish) Europese Atoomenergie Gemeenschap (Dutch) Euroopa Aatomienergiaühendus (Estonian) Euroopan atomienergiayhteisö (Finnish) Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (French) Europäische Atomgemeinschaft (German) Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα Ατομικής Ενέργειας (Greek) Európai Atomenergia Közösség (Hungarian) Comhphobal Eorpach um Fhuinneamh Adamhach (Irish) Comunità europea dell'energia atomica (Italian) Eiropas Atomenerģijas kopiena (Latvian) Europos atominės energetikos bendrija (Lithuanian) Komunità Ewropea tal-Enerġija Atomika (Maltese) Europejska Wspólnota Energii Atomowej (Polish) Comunidade Europeia da Energia Atómica (Portuguese) Comunitatea Europeană a Energiei Atomice (Romanian) Európske spoločenstvo pre atómovú energiu (Slovak) Evropska skupnost za jedrsko energijo (Slovene) Comunidad Europea de la Energía Atómica (Spanish) Europeiska atomenergigemenskapen (Swedish)
Member states Participating associated states
Administrative body	European Commission
Official languages	24 languages
Type	International organisation
Members	EU member states Associated states: Switzerland United Kingdom
Establishment	1958

• Euratom Treaty	1 January 1958
• Merger Treaty	1 July 1967

The European Atomic Energy Community (often called Euratom) is an international group. It was started by the Euratom Treaty on March 25, 1957. Its first goal was to create a special market for nuclear power in Europe. It aimed to develop nuclear energy and share it among its member countries. Any extra energy could be sold to countries outside the group.

Over the years, Euratom's work has grown a lot. It now covers many areas related to nuclear power and ionising radiation. This includes keeping nuclear materials safe and protecting people from radiation. It also helps build big international projects like the ITER fusion reactor.

Euratom is legally separate from the European Union (EU). However, it has the same member countries. Many of the EU's main groups, like the European Commission, also help run Euratom. It is the only original community group that is still independent of the EU. This means the European Parliament does not control it in the same way. Since 2014, Switzerland has also worked with Euratom as a partner country.

The United Kingdom left Euratom on January 31, 2020, after Brexit. But under a special agreement, the UK still works with Euratom as a partner country. This started on December 31, 2020.

How Euratom Began: A Look at Its History
How the EU Has Grown: Euratom's Place
Working Together: Euratom's Partnerships
The United Kingdom's Decision to Leave Euratom
Euratom's Important Contributions
Leaders of Euratom
See also

How Euratom Began: A Look at Its History

1 April 1957: Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein, and Antonio Segni sign important treaties in Rome, Italy.

France was a big reason why Euratom was created. France wanted to develop nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. They did not want to rely on the United States or the United Kingdom for this. Developing nuclear technology was also very expensive. So, France wanted to share these costs with other members of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

During the talks to create Euratom, the United States and the United Kingdom tried to influence nuclear development in Europe. They created the European Nuclear Energy Agency (ENEA). This was a way to limit Euratom's power and gain control over nuclear technology. The Soviet Union also tried to turn Europeans against Euratom. They spread fears that it would help West Germany build nuclear weapons.

The Common Assembly suggested expanding the ECSC to include other energy sources. But Jean Monnet, a key person behind the ECSC, wanted a separate group just for nuclear power. Louis Armand studied how nuclear energy could be used in Europe. His report said that more nuclear development was needed. This would help make up for less coal and reduce reliance on oil.

Some countries, like Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Benelux), and Germany, also wanted a general single market. France was against this idea because it wanted to protect its own industries. Jean Monnet thought a single market was too big and hard to create at the time. So, he suggested creating two separate groups. One would be for atomic energy, and the other for economic matters. This idea helped bring both sides together.

In 1956, leaders met at the Château of Val-Duchesse. They worked out the main ideas for the new treaties. Euratom would help countries work together on nuclear topics. At that time, nuclear energy was very popular. Euratom and the new economic community (EEC) would share the Common Assembly and the European Court of Justice. But they would not share their main leaders. Euratom would have its own Council and Commission. These groups would have less power than the ECSC's High Authority.

On March 25, 1957, the Treaties of Rome were signed. These included the Euratom Treaty and the EEC Treaty. The six original ECSC members signed them. They officially started on January 1, 1958.

To save money and resources, the separate leadership groups were combined in 1965. This happened through the Merger Treaty. The EEC's groups took over running the ECSC and Euratom. All three then became known as the European Communities. Even though they were legally separate, they worked together. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union. This brought the Communities into the EU's structure. But Euratom still kept its own separate legal identity.

There were plans to update the Euratom treaty. The European Parliament had little power over it. But the treaty was not changed much. This was because some people in Europe were against nuclear power. Changing the treaty might have made voters dislike it even more. So, the Euratom treaty remains mostly the same as when it was first signed.

How the EU Has Grown: Euratom's Place

This timeline shows how the European Union has developed. It also shows that Euratom is the only original community group that has not been fully joined into the EU.

Since the end of World War II, sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe (French: la construction européenne). The following timeline outlines the legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from the European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration.

Legend:
S: signing
F: entry into force
T: termination
E: expiry
de facto supersession
Rel. w/ EC/EU framework:
de facto inside
outside

European Union (EU)

[Cont.]

European Communities (EC)

(Pillar I)

European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom)

[Cont.]

European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)

(Distr. of competences)

European Economic Community (EEC)

Schengen Rules

European Community (EC)

'TREVI'

Justice and Home Affairs (JHA, pillar II)

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

[Cont.]

Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC, pillar II)

Anglo-French alliance

[Defence arm handed to NATO]

European Political Co-operation (EPC)

Common Foreign and Security Policy
(CFSP, pillar III)

Western Union (WU)

Western European Union (WEU)

[Tasks defined following the WEU's 1984 reactivation handed to the EU]

[Social, cultural tasks handed to CoE]

[Cont.]

Council of Europe (CoE)

Entente Cordiale
S: 8 April 1904

Dunkirk Treaty
S: 4 March 1947
F: 8 September 1947
E: 8 September 1997

Brussels Treaty
S: 17 March 1948
F: 25 August 1948
T: 30 June 2011

London and Washington treaties
S: 5 May/4 April 1949
F: 3 August/24 August 1949

Paris treaties: ECSC and EDC
S: 18 April 1951/27 May 1952
F: 23 July 1952/—
E: 23 July 2002/—

Protocol Modifying and
Completing the Brussels Treaty
S: 23 October 1954
F: 6 May 1955

Rome treaties: EEC and EAEC
S: 25 March 1957
F: 1 January 1958

WEU-CoE agreement
S: 21 October 1959
F: 1 January 1960

Brussels (Merger) Treaty
S: 8 April 1965
F: 1 July 1967

Davignon report
S: 27 October 1970

European Council conclusions
S: 2 December 1975

Single European Act (SEA)
S: 17/28 February 1986
F: 1 July 1987

Schengen Treaty and Convention
S: 14 June 1985/19 June 1990
F: 26 March 1995

Maastricht Treaty
S: 7 February 1992
F: 1 November 1993

Amsterdam Treaty
S: 2 October 1997
F: 1 May 1999

Nice Treaty
S: 26 February 2001
F: 1 February 2003

Lisbon Treaty
S: 13 December 2007
F: 1 December 2009

Working Together: Euratom's Partnerships

Euratom works with many countries and groups around the world.

Since 2014, Switzerland has been a partner in Euratom's programs.
Since January 2021, the United Kingdom also takes part in Euratom programs. This is part of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
As of 2024, Euratom has special agreements with ten other countries. These include Armenia, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Ukraine, United States, and Uzbekistan. These agreements help them work together on nuclear energy topics.

The United Kingdom's Decision to Leave Euratom

The United Kingdom said it wanted to leave Euratom on January 26, 2017. This followed its decision to leave the European Union. Formal notice to leave Euratom was given in March 2017. The UK's departure became official after talks about the exit terms. These talks lasted for almost three years.

A report in May 2017 questioned if leaving Euratom was legally necessary. It suggested keeping membership for a short time to make new plans.

In June 2017, the European Commission shared its ideas on nuclear materials and safety. A paper from the House of Commons Library also looked at what leaving Euratom would mean.

Some articles in 2017 raised concerns. They wondered if the UK would have enough nuclear fuel after leaving. They also worried about new rules for moving nuclear materials. Another concern was the supply of special radioactive materials for cancer treatments. These would also need new agreements.

Some UK politicians thought the UK could stay in Euratom. They said this would need approval from the other EU countries. It might also mean changing or taking back the original letter to leave.

The Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 was passed in June 2018. This law made plans for nuclear safety after leaving Euratom.

The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement explains the UK's relationship with the EU from January 1, 2021. It allows the United Kingdom to be a partner country in all parts of the Euratom program.

Euratom's Important Contributions

One important achievement of Euratom is Article 37 of its treaty. This rule was a first step in creating binding laws across borders. It helps protect the environment and people from the effects of nuclear activities. This means countries must work together to ensure nuclear safety.

Leaders of Euratom

While Euratom had its own separate leaders (from 1958 to 1967), it was led by three presidents. All of them were from France.

Louis Armand (1958–1959)
Étienne Hirsch (1959–1962)
Pierre Chatenet (1962–1967)