Welcome to GMF website

We are delighted to welcome you to GMF Europe, and we hope you will find this website useful as you explore the breadth of GMF's international activity.

 Decisions on energy policies have economic implications. Within this context, the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was established alongside the European Economic Community in 1957. The nuclear program has maintained a legally distinct nature from the European Union although it has the same membership and is governed by the EU's institutions.

25 per cent of the total energy produced in Europe has nuclear origin. That implies the presence of this kind of facilities in a significant part of our territory. The deployment of these facilities has followed, generally, the American model. They had been set in rural areas, near hydraulic resources, far away from populated or potential developing areas.

As of today, the use or nuclear energy remains controversial due, in part, to security concerns and the long term management of radioactive waste. 

Our society is engaged in a permanent round of debates in order to achieve consensus in the processes of democratic decision making, this is being emphasized, if possible, in the emerging model of knowledge society. Public participation and transparency are key elements, especially when these processes affect the environment or the future of our citizens.

The activities of the nuclear facilities, including the ones related to waste disposal, have been carried upon according to the 89/618 Euratom’s directive "Information to the population on the risks of radioactive facilities". This directive has been applied and developed in different ways by each one of the Member States.

Our efforts have led to the identification of our common main concerns:

• Information, especially to the population as a basic element for improving their capacity to get knowledge on nuclear issues.
• The future of our municipalities after a nuclear plant shutdown. Our idea is getting enough economical capacity for our municipalities in order to promote some kind of alternative economical development.
• Management of radioactive waste in a safe manner, in particular, their future and their definitive storage.
• Last but not least, we want to increase the participation of our municipalities in the decision making process as a guarantee of respect to the principles of local democracy.

Our commitments are:  

• Defending and ensuring that European nuclear municipalities take part in existing discussion forums and in decision-making processes that are being carried out in the European Union.
• Having information exchanged among its members about the nuclear reality in every European country and about municipal experiences in relation to territorial arrangement, economic development and civil protection.
• Carrying out future projects with the participation of all or part of its members in order to favour their integration in the European Union.
• Organising annual encounters so that European municipal authorities can gather and exchange information.  These encounters will also aim at improving the knowledge of the elected by the majority about nuclear reality in Europe, its safety and its future.
  

On behalf of GMF's President, members and staff, we are delighted to welcome you to our web page and thank you for your interest in our organization. We hope your visit here will be satisfactory.