Nuclear transports to and from Russia

Licences for transports of nuclear fuel on German territory are issued by the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) in accordance with the provisions of Section 4 of the Atomic Energy Act, and cover the transport of the material within Germany. A licence from the Federal Office of Export and Economic Control (BAFA) is required for the import and export of the material from and to other countries. Applications for uranium imports or exports from Russia thus do not fall under the responsibility of BASE, but must also be examined and approved by BAFA.

On the examinations made by BASE: The examination of such applications is a so-called bound decision. BASE will verify whether the safety-related and legal requirements for safe transport in Germany are being met. If all the requirements are met, the licence will be issued without any discretion on the part of the authority. Against the backdrop of the current situation, BASE considers transports across Russian territory to be a special case: In view of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, BASE will therefore involve the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) as its supervisory authority in the assessment of such transports.

No EU nuclear fuel import or export embargo against Russia

As there is currently no EU embargo against Russia on the import or export of nuclear fuel for use, there is no legal basis for preventing imports or exports, or for cancelling licences already granted.

According to information from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the extension of EU sanctions to Russia's nuclear industry has been the subject of negotiations with European partners on several occasions. Without sanction regulations at EU level, there is no discretion in this matter, and licences must be issued by BASE. Since BASE can only issue licences for German territory, it may not examine the consignee for decision-making purposes in its licensing procedures.

The question of when an authorised transport will actually take place is the responsibility of the respective transport company in consultation with the federal and state supervisory and security authorities affected by the transport. For security reasons, information about transport times cannot be published in advance. BASE will provide timely information about completed transports and newly issued transport permits in the online list of current transport licences, which will be updated every two to four weeks.