The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is a specialized agency within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries, based in Paris, France. The mission of the NEA is to assist its member countries in main­taining and further developing, through international cooperation, the sci­entific, technological and legal bases required for the safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. To achieve this, the NEA works as a forum for sharing information and experi­ence and promoting international co-operation, a centre of excellence which helps member countries to pool and maintain their technical exper­tise, and a vehicle for facilitating policy analyses and developing consensus based on its technical work. The NEA’s current membership consists of 29 countries, in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Together they account for approximately 85% of the world’s installed nuclear capac­ity. Nuclear power accounts for almost a quarter of the electricity produced in NEA member countries. The NEA works closely with the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna — a specialized agency of the United Nations — and with the European Commission in Brussels. Within the OECD, there is close coordination with the International Energy Agency and the Environment Directorate, as well as contacts with other directorates, as appropriate. NEA areas of work are nuclear safety and regulation, nuclear energy development, radioactive waste management, radiological protection and public health, nuclear law and liability, nuclear science, the Data Bank, information and communication. For details see www. oecd-nea. org.