WP 2 Appendix 10 Balance of Power: Principles and Good Practices for Local Stakeholders to Influence National Decision-making Processes

Our basic position is that the outcomes of policy-making in radioactive waste management (RWM) should be driven by the will of the people through democratic processes. Achieving this inclusiveness requires good practices to increase local influence on what is essentially a national policy process. However inclusiveness poses significant practical problems; can society afford lengthy and costly consultation processes, often perceived as inefficient and ineffective? Local stakeholders and national actors need to learn how to achieve this inclusiveness so that both groups feel committed to the outcomes of the policy process. This document offers two lists, one of principles and the other of good practices for local stakeholders to influence RWM policy-making. A driving concern in structuring these lists is the balance of power between local and national concerns. This paper offers only a first introduction to this discussion; much more work is necessary about this balance. Overall for an effective local influence it is necessary to engage and involve stakeholders in fair and ethical national decisions processes.