On 8 May 1958, Max Kohnstamm, Head of the Euratom delegation for nuclear cooperation with the United States, writes to Richard W. Cook, Deputy General Manager of the US Atomic Energy Commission, to enquire about the type of nuclear reactors that will be put into service in the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

On 12 June 1958, Richard W. Cook, Deputy Director-General of the US Atomic Energy Commission, describes to Max Kohnstamm, Head of the Euratom Delegation for nuclear cooperation with the United States, the type of nuclear reactors that have been delivered by his country to the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

On 29 May 1958, in Brussels, the United States and the six Member States of Euratom sign a memorandum setting out the terms of the joint agreement for technical cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.

On 12 June 1958, Richard W. Cook, Deputy Director-General of the US Atomic Energy Commission, gives Max Kohnstamm, Head of the Euratom Delegation for nuclear cooperation with the United States, a large number of details about the conditions surrounding the supply of enriched uranium to the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

On 29 May 1958, in Brussels, and on 18 June 1958, in Washington, the United States and the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) sign an agreement of principle on closer cooperation to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy.

On 23 June 1958, the United States and the six Member States of Euratom approve a programme of cooperation in the area of nuclear energy which covers both the supply of uranium and the construction of several nuclear power plants in Europe.

On 23 June 1958, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives an address to the US Congress in which he emphasises the importance of the nuclear cooperation programme signed that same day in Brussels by the six Member States of Euratom and the United States.

As a new nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and the Member States of Euratom is signed on 8 November 1958 in Brussels, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung welcomes the decision on the joint building of nuclear power plants in Europe.

On 8 November 1958, on the occasion of the signing, in Brussels, of the scientific cooperation agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) and the United States, Enrico Medi, Vice-President of the Euratom Commission, emphasises the strategic significance of the nuclear cooperation programme.

On 27 May 1964, the Euratom Commission officially announces the conclusion of an agreement with the United States for the establishment of a new cooperation programme which will focus on the development of rapid reactors for energy purposes.

On 19 February 1959, at the Villa Vauban in Luxembourg, Étienne Hirsch, former Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, is sworn in as President of the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

On 19 February 1959, at Villa Vauban in Luxembourg City, Étienne Hirsch (on the left), former Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, who has just been sworn in as President of the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), talks to Luxembourg Foreign Minister Joseph Bech (on the right).

On 22 September 1964, disappointed by the results secured in the area of nuclear integration, the Italian Member of Parliament and Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Energy, Mario Pedini, warns his colleagues of the dangers faced by the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

On 25 March 1966, the French newspaper La France catholique considers the real reasons for the failure of Euratom’s policy and advocates a reorganisation of the research programmes of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

In January 1969, in L’Europe en formation, French leader-writer Francis Gérard describes the crisis dogging Euratom and analyses the reasons that led to the relative failure of plans for a European Atomic Community.

On 22 September 1964, Mario Pedini, a Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Energy, addresses the European Parliament in an effort to defuse the ‘nuclear reactor systems war’, which is dividing proponents of natural uranium and those who prefer enriched uranium.

The choice between using natural or enriched uranium is the subject of much debate in the early 1960s. This debate is better known as the ‘nuclear reactor systems war’.

In its tenth general report on the activities of Euratom, the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) draws up a table showing the primary uranium-supplying countries and gives a breakdown of the investment made in prospection for this mineral.

In the 1960s, Europe abandons the use of natural uranium in its reactors which it considers to be too expensive, and gradually turns to imported enriched uranium.

In his editorial of 19 November 1969, Emanuele Gazzo, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe, expresses the hope that France’s decision to stop using natural uranium in its reactors will revive Euratom on the back of a more Community-based approach.

On 1 December 1969, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses nuclear policy in Europe and criticises the lack of cooperation between the various European states.

On 14 April 1959, the Italian Communist daily newspaper L’Unità reports the opening of the Joint Reseach Centre (JRC) in Ispra and considers Italy’s role in Community nuclear energy.

In October 1960, the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) undertakes to build several Joint Research Centres (JRC); the most important in terms of nuclear research is to be located on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Ispra, northern Italy.

On 23 December 1961, the French daily newspaper Le Monde focuses on the nuclear projects under way at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy.

The Ispra site in Lombardy is one of the four research establishments in the Euratom Joint Research Centre in Europe. In 1962, major work is carried out in Ispra for the construction of the building to house the future ECO reactor (Expérience Critique Orgel).

View of the construction work on the ESSOR reactor (from ESSai ORgelExpérience Critique Orgel) shortly before it is commissioned.

View of the room located above the ESSOR reactor in Ispra from which the charging of the reactor can be monitored. This room is only accessible when the nuclear reactor is stopped. The photo shows two technicians observing the introduction of a driver element.

Overall view of staff employed in one of the workshops at the Ispra Nuclear Research Centre in Italy.

Technicians in protective clothing decontaminating the Ispra I nuclear reactor in Italy.

Technicians in protective clothing replacing the fuel rods at the Ispra I nuclear reactor in Italy.

The Research Centre for the Applications of Nuclear Energy, later known as the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN), is founded in 1952 in Mol, Belgium.

This photo shows the BR 2 (Belgian Reactor 2) reactor at the Mol nuclear power plant, commissioned in 1962 and operated jointly by the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre and Euratom.

In 1962, as part of the Euratom programme, the initial work is begun for the construction of the European Institute for Transuranium Elements in Karlsruhe, the Federal Republic of Germany.

View of the B wing of the Institute for Transuranium Elements in Karlsruhe. The photo shows engineers at work in the hot cell laboratory.

Overhead view of the Nuclear Research Centre in Jülich (near Aachen in West Germany), associated with the Euratom programme of research and training in the nuclear field.

View showing the construction of the reactor at the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant, in the Federal Republic of Germany, due to be commissioned in 1966.

In 1964, the safety tank of the nuclear power plant in Gundremmingen, in the Federal Republic of Germany, is subjected to inspection before becoming operational in 1966. This plant is part of Euratom’s nuclear programme.

Equipment inside the Atomic Research Centre in Pierrelatte, Drôme.

On 25 September 1963, French President Charles de Gaulle visits the nuclear power plant in Pierrelatte, in the department of Drôme.

Situated 120 km east of Paris, the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear power station is the first to be built on the River Seine.

In 1957, work begins on the first French nuclear power plant, Chinon A1, known as ‘La Boule’. It is commissioned in June 1963, and is followed by Chinon A2 (1965–1985) and Chinon A3 (1966–1990). The photo shows reactors I, II and III of this plant.

Aerial photograph of the reactor and laboratories of the Petten nuclear site. The Petten high flux reactor (HFR) is operated in accordance with the agreement of 25 July 1961 between Euratom and the Netherlands.

Aerial view of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Petten, the Netherlands, which participates in the Euratom programme in the nuclear field and houses the Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM).

Inside view of the high flux reactor (HFR) at the nuclear site in Petten, the Netherlands, which would participate in Euratom’s research activities in the field of nuclear energy from 1 November 1962 onwards.

Map showing the nuclear reactors in the various countries of the European Community. The size of the circles is proportional to the productivity of the sites. The reactors already in service are shown in black, and those which are under construction and planned to be completed before 1967 are shown in blue.

On 21 May 1964, the French weekly magazine L’Express outlines the causes of the slow demise of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) and considers what may happen to it in the future.

In March 1965, Nieuw Europa, the monthly publication of the Dutch European Movement, speculates on the difficulties impeding the operation of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

On 18 October 1966, Italy’s Eduardo Battaglia, Vice-President of the European Parliament, notes the failure of Euratom and its inability to rise above the national ambitions of the Member States.

On 5 December 1966, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro ponders on the interest and inconsistencies of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

Table showing the various types of reactors, their power and the date of their connection to the grid in France, Belgium, Germany and Italy during the 1960s.

In 1968, the European Commission publishes a White Paper reviewing the research carried out by the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) and suggests measures to improve its operation.

In June 1969, Nieuw Europa, the monthly publication of the Dutch European Movement, speculates on the future prospects of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

In an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde on 1 December 1969, Pierre Sudreau, President of European Movement France, gives his views on the failure of Euratom and calls on European countries to revive the idea of a European nuclear industry.

In December 1969, in the French monthly publication Le Monde Diplomatique, Théo Lefevre, Belgian Minister for Science Policy and Planning, emphasises how important it is for the Six to develop a common industrial policy.