Consideration on UK withdrawal from EURATOM

The United Kingdom (UK), in March 2017, notified the withdrawal from the European Union (EU), then initiated the countdown for the actual BREXIT in 2019. Since EURATOM is managed by the same organisation of EU although those are different legal entities, the withdrawal from EURATOM is considered to be unavoidable. Therefore, UK has to define the regulation for the measures covered by EURATOM which include the implementing safeguards in the civil UK nuclear facilities and the nuclear cooperation agreements between EURATOM and third nations. UK experts recognise that such re-arrangements within 2-years are very tough hurdle, so that some alternative measures are proposed by industry side. For peaceful nuclear use in Japan, hindrances on the smooth transfers of nuclear materials and equipment between UK are concerned. This paper will discuss the UK withdrawal from EURATOM focussed on the UK's correspondence and the potential influence on cooperation with Japan in view of nuclear non-proliferation. (author)