ITER NEWSLINE
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An evolving relationship
As the Headquarters Buildings will be handed over to the ITER Organization in late August, the modalities of the CEA Site Support Agreement are being adapted to this new context.
They are neighbours and they are partners: for the past five years, the ITER Organization, Agence Iter France and CEA-Cadarache have worked together to create the best possible conditions for the development of the ITER Project.
Within the framework of the Site Support Agreement, CEA-Cadarache as "Host Organization" has provided office space to ITER staff and contractors on its side of the fence; bus transportation and medical services; access to the cafeteria; and such basic amenities as water and electricity.
But as the Headquarters will be handed over to the ITER Organization in late August—and as all staff and contractors will be removed from the CEA site by the end of this year—the modalities of the CEA Site Support Agreement are being adapted to this new context.
The provision of some services, such as bus transportation or the cafeteria, will be taken over by the ITER Organization. Some services will continue to be requested; for others, the terms will be revisited within the context of a five-year forecast that ITER has established.
Exchanging information on the new modalities and all practical and legal consequences formed the core of the fifth meeting of the Site Support Agreement Liaison Committee that was held on Tuesday 17 July at ITER in the presence of CEA Administrator-General Bernard Bigot and under the chairmanship of ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima.
Several issues pertaining to ITER's relationship with CEA and France were reviewed during the meeting.
While the dismantlement of the ITER installation will only begin some thirty years from now at the earliest, the two parties have decided to set up a Decommissioning Advisory Committee that will meet under the chairmanship of the ITER Organization Director-General. The Committee will be established in conformity to Article 6.5 of the Annex to the Headquarters Agreement in order to ensure proper management of the Decommissioning Fund.
In his capacity as High Representative for the Realization of ITER in France, Mr Bigot opened the last debate of the afternoon: the review by participants of the present state of discussions between France and the ITER Organization on issues pertaining to licensing, customs, and CE marking, a mandatory conformity mark for goods (i.e. the ITER components) imported into Europe.
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