Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)

A specialized agency within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which was created to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing the scientific, technological, and legal bases for safe, environmentally friendly, and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The NEA’s current membership consists of 33 countries in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region, which account for about 85 percent of the world’s installed nuclear capacity. The OECD is an intergovernmental organization, based in Paris, France, that provides a forum for discussion and cooperation among the governments of industrialized countries committed to democracy and the market economy.