Link to the study - European Parliament - Europa

Policy Department D: Budgetary Affairs
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Decommissioning oversight and control
In a very early stage the control structure governing strategic decisions of the managing
organisation needs to be decided upon because all subsequent issues require clear, coherent
and pro-active decision-making.
Decommissioning organisation
Several decisions have to be prepared at the outset of decommissioning, so the design and
implementation of the managing organisation should be carefully planned and decided upon.
Decommissioning timeline
The decommissioning plan needs to be detailed enough to allow decisions on the basic
decommissioning route in an early phase. The basic decisions on whether a 'fast' or 'slow'
approach is chosen or whether any inactive phases in between make sense and provide an
advantage over the continuous scenario can only be based on that overall plan and its
underlying cost attributions.
Decommissioning target
The decommissioning target ('end state') needs to be clear from an early stage because several
planning variables depend upon it. To be decided on are 'Advanced decontamination',
'Regulatory release', 'Green/brown/red field status' and 'Long term target of the organisation’s
life time'.
Decommissioning risks
Identification, assessment and methods to limit risks needs to be implemented from the outset
because a consistent decommissioning plan cannot be setup without this and because the
approach of the management level and the workforce requires training to achieve an
appropriate risk management.
Decommissioning workforce
From the outset a decision is necessary whether the project will work with the existing workforce
or will be based on extensive external contributions. If the latter will be the preferred strategy,
then strong controls have to be setup to ensure that the managing organisation is able to
control all processes, that an appropriate risk balance is achieved, etc.
Decommissioning costs
Cost figures are necessary from the outset because they are a criterion determining all decisions
early on. Updates need to be made regularly, identifying relevant contributions.
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