Working together as good neighbours

Like the relationship between a landlord and a tenant, the CEA and the ITER Organization are governed in their relationship by a set of mutual obligations. For the past two years, while the final text of the Site Support Agreement was going through a lengthy approval process, the parties were officially bound by a mere annual contract.

On Wednesday 18 November, while the delegates to the 5th ITER Council were meeting in Cadarache, Kaname Ikeda, ITER Director-General; Bernard Bigot, Administrator-General of CEA; and François Gauché, Director of Agence Iter France (AIF) signed the 16-page document that lists with precision the rights and duties of each party.

The Site Support Agreement goes beyond the technical aspects of supplying water and electricity to the ITER site, or providing internet or bus and canteen services to the ITER staff. It is a charter that obliges both parties to work together as good neighbours.

The new document doesn't depart from the "spirit" in which ITER and CEA/AIF, as "Host Organization," have been interacting for the past two years. It officializes a relationship that has proved fruitful and rewarding, and sets the framework down to address needs that will arise during the construction and operation phases of the ITER Project.