Brexit, Euratom and nuclear proliferation

One of the issues absent from the academic (and public) debate on the United Kingdom's (UK) referendum vote to withdraw from the European Union (EU) (commonly referred to as 'Brexit') is what will happen to the UK's membership in the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The Euratom Treaty was signed in Rome in 1957, together with the European Economic Community (EEC) Treaty. It was concluded for an unlimited period and it establishes a Community that has a separate legal personality from the EU. Thus, the EU and Euratom form two separate, although closely linked entities. Euratom's principal mission is related to the economy, tasked with 'creating the conditions necessary for the speedy establishment and growth of nuclear industries'; in other words, to promote the nuclear industry. This reflects the high expectations for nuclear energy in the 1950's. Some even believed that the development of nuclear energy would trigger an industrial revolution; however, Euratom only came to play a minor role in the European integration process. Despite this, the Euratom Treaty has remained, almost unchanged, since its adoption and is still frequently applied, although it is unclear to what extent it has boosted the nuclear industry. This article has a two-fold purpose. The first purpose is to address the constitutional issue of 'partial membership'. All EU member states are also members of Euratom. It has always been assumed that with membership in the EU also comes a membership in Euratom. But, what about withdrawal? What are the arguments for 'partial membership'? The second purpose of this article is to shed light on some implications of Brexit as it relates to Euratom. The most serious consequences are perhaps found in the area of nuclear non-proliferation. The United Kingdom is one of two nuclear weapon states in the EU (France being the other one). Withdrawal from Euratom means withdrawal from its control system, the system of so-called nuclear safeguards. Under this system, the European Commission sends inspectors to the member states to ensure that nuclear material is not being diverted and used for military purposes. This article begins, in Part 2, by exploring the possibility for the United Kingdom to stay a member of Euratom, while leaving the EU. Part 3 examines the implications of Brexit in the area of nuclear industrial development - the main task of Euratom. The article addresses Brexit and non-proliferation in Part 4 and concludes in Part 5