L 17218 Official Journal of the European Union 2.7.2009 DIRECTIVES COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2009/71/EURATOM of 25 June 2009 establishing a Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Articles 31 and 32 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, drawn up after obtaining the opinion of a group of persons appointed by the Scientific and Technical Committee from among scientific experts in the Member States, and after having consulted the European Economic and Social Committee (?), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (?), Whereas: (1) Article 2(b) of the Treaty provides for the establishment of uniform safety standards to protect the health of workers and of the general public. (2)  Article 30 of the Treaty provides for the establishment of basic standards within the Community for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiations. (3)  Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation (}) establishes the basic safety standards. The provisions of that Directive have been supplemented by more specific legis- lation. (4)  As recognised by ‘the Court of Justice’ of the European Communities (hereinafter referred to as the Court of Justice) in its case-law (¥, the Community shares compet- ences, together with its Member States, in fields covered by the Convention on Nuclear Safety (°). (") Opinion of 10 June 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (%) Opinion of the European Parliament of 22 April 2009 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () O] L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1. () C-187/87 (1988 ECR p. 5013), C-376/90 (1992 ECR 1-6153) and C-29/99 (2002 ECR 1-11221). () OJ L 318, 11.12.1999, p. 21. () 0] 0] As recognised by the Court of Justice in its case-law, the provisions of Chapter 3 of the Treaty, related to health and safety, form a coherent whole conferring upon the Commission powers of some considerable scope in order to protect the population and the environment against risks of nuclear contamination. As recognised by the Court of Justice in its case-law, the tasks imposed on the Community by Article 2(b) of the Treaty to lay down uniform safety standards to protect the health of the population and of workers does not mean that, once such standards have been defined, a Member State may not provide for more stringent measures of protection. Council Decision 87/600/Euratom of 14 December 1987 on Community arrangements for the early exchange of information in the event of a radiological emergency () established a framework for notification and provision of information to be used by the Member States in order to protect the general public in case of a radiological emergency. Council Directive 89/618/Euratom  of 27 November 1989 on informing the general public about health protection measures to be applied and steps to be taken in the event of a radiological emerg- ency (') imposed obligations on the Member States to inform the general public in the event of a radiological emergency. National responsibility of Member States for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations is the fundamental principle on which nuclear safety regulation has been developed at the international level, as endorsed by the Convention on Nuclear Safety. That principle of national responsibility, as well as the principle of prime responsibility of the licence holder for the nuclear safety of a nuclear instal- lation under the supervision of its national competent regulatory authority, should be enhanced and the role and independence of the competent regulatory auth- orities should be reinforced by this Directive. Each Member State may decide on its energy mix in accordance with relevant national policies. L 371, 30.12.1987, p. 76. L 357, 7.12.1989, p. 31.