The NEA's mission is to assist its Member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, 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;

a vehicle for facilitating policy analyses and developing consensus based on its technical work.

The NEA's current membership consists of 28 countries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Together they account for approximately 85 per cent 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 specialised agency of the United Nations -- and with the European Commission in Brussels. Within the OECD, there is close co-ordination with the International Energy Agency and the Environment Directorate, as well as contacts with other directorates, as appropriate.

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