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The European Union (EU) and representatives of the six Western Balkans partners mark a significant milestone in their collaboration on radiological safety with the conclusion of the EXTRA-EURDEP project. This initiative represents a key achievement in enhancing radiological data exchange and emergency preparedness across the Western Balkans (WB). This project has been funded by the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) and coordinated by European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA).
With the increasing need for effective radiological monitoring, the WB and EU have collaborated closely to improve the status of national radiological environmental monitoring (REM) networks in either connecting to EURDEP or finding solutions in keeping connected to EURDEP, the European Radiological Data Exchange Platform.
EURDEP is the EU’s official platform for continuous, near-real-time exchange of radiological environmental monitoring data among European countries. It is operated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and links national automatic radiological monitoring stations to a harmonised European network, supporting both routine surveillance and emergency preparedness.
With an increasing need for effective radiological monitoring, the EU and Western Balkans (WB) have collaborated intensively via projects such as EXTRA-EURDEP to upgrade national REM (Radiological Environmental Monitoring) networks in these countries. This involves:
- Network Connection: WB economies work to either fully connect their monitoring networks to EURDEP or maintain technological solutions for seamless connectivity, raising their capacity for data exchange and ensuring compliance with future EU requirements.
- Technical and Capacity-building Support: Through joint workshops, expert meetings, and infrastructure development, the EU supports the WB in upgrading, harmonizing, and expanding their monitoring networks.
The recent successes of the EXTRA-EURDEP project highlight an expanded partnership between the EU and Western Balkans, paving the way for future collaborations and supporting the region’s eventual integration into EU radiological safety and monitoring frameworks.
The project has been successful in creating a strong community of EURDEP and radiological environmental monitoring (REM) stakeholders including several European Commission’s Directorate Generals: DG International Partnerships, DG Energy and DG Joint Research Centre.
Three out of the WBs are connected to EURDEP, a fourth one will be very soon connected and the other two have made significant efforts to manage the infrastructure needed to join EURDEP. Further meetings between the European Commission team of experts and national experts will take place in the following weeks to facilitate connection to EURDEP.
On 11 and 12 June, the final meeting and workshop of the project was hosted in the JRC offices in Ispra, Italy. The project, implemented by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), has paved the path for future collaborations across the region in the field of radiological environmental monitoring and emergency preparedness and response.
For further information, please visit the source page of this news: https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/enhancing-radiological-data-exchange-and-strengthening-cooperation-nuclear-safety-between-eu-and-2025-08-20_en and the EURDEP website https://remon.jrc.ec.europa.eu/About/Rad-Data-Exchange