Toward an international convergence of regulations on nuclear safety?

Although the nuclear industry is distinctively national, most of the frameworks set up for international trade have proposed a convergence of national regulations. There are two 'weak' driving forces behind this convergence: industrialists want uniform rules for their exportation plans, and public opinion expects ambitious safety requirements in all countries around the world. Thanks to France's efforts, in particular at the European and then international levels, safety requirements have been pulled up. However these efforts have reached their limits in a multipolar world, where the big powers do not want to tighten the requirements that apply to their national champions and where each country in the nuclear club wants to keep full control over its nuclear industry. (authors)