§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether spent nuclear fuel and its constituent parts imported prior to 1976 for reprocessing at Sellafield, without obligation of return of nuclear materials to the country of origin, is subject to the ownership conditions set out in articles 86 and 197 of the Euratom treaty.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 30 November 1993]Article 86 of the Euratom treaty states that special fissile materials shall be the property of the Community and that the Community's right of ownership shall extend to all special fissile materials, as defined in article 197, which are produced or imported by a member state, a person or an undertaking and are subject to Euratom safeguards.
Equally, article 87 qualifies that right of ownership by providing that member states, persons or undertakings have unlimited right of use and consumption of these materials, subject to the obligations imposed on them by the treaty.
Article 75 states that the provisions of chapter VIII of the treaty, including articles 86 and 87, shall not apply to 682W special fissile materials covered by commitments entered into by a person or undertaking with an international organisation or a national of a third state, where the material is to be processed inside the Community and then returned either to the original organisation or national or to any other consignee likewise outside the Community designated by such organisation or national.
The question of whether any particular special fissile material, which is introduced into the United Kingdom for processing, is subject to articles 86 and 87, depends therefore on whether it is contemplated by the commercial arrangement in question that the special fissile material will be returned after processing to the original organisation or national outside the Community or any other designated consignee outside the Community.