EU Statement at IAEA Board of Governors on Nuclear and Radiation Safety, as delivered on 9 September 2024

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EU Statement at IAEA Board of Governors on Nuclear and Radiation Safety, as delivered on 9 September 2024

09.09.2024 Press and information team of the Delegation to UN and OSCE in Vienna

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina[1]and Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland, and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as San Marino, align themselves with this statement.

The EU and its Member States attach utmost priority to nuclear safety in order to prevent nuclear incidents and accidents. Promoting leadership and management for safety, including a strong safety culture, is essential. We must continuously implement improvements and strive for the highest possible nuclear safety and radiation protection,in accordance with IAEA safety standards, the international conventions, and the Euratom legal framework.

The EU continues to support nuclear safety improvements across Europe through EU Stress Tests and Topical Peer Reviews, and worldwide through the European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation. Today, we are pleased to announce a new contribution of nearly 8 million Euros for IAEA activities, including in Ukraine.

Chair,

The EU and its Member States remain deeply concerned over the nuclear safety and security risks caused by Russia's illegal war of aggression, its seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and its frequent attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure affecting off-site power supply not only to the ZNPP, but also Ukraine's other nuclear facilities. We continue to support the Agency's crucial missions in Ukraine and stress the importance of respecting the Director General's seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict and the five concrete principles. The safety and security of nuclear power plants must not be endangered. We call on the Secretariat to issue the technical document onreviewing challenges related to nuclear safety and security in armed conflicts. We will address nuclear safety issues in Ukraine in more detail under item 9.

Chair,

We appreciate the Agency's continued vigilance to ensure that safety standards remain fully applicable and up-to-date. While the backlog of safety standards is currently being managed, the publication process requires further improvements to avoid delays.

EU Member States remain fully committed to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, including the Vienna Declaration, and to the Joint Convention. We welcome the actions taken to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their review processes. We call on all IAEA Member States to join these important instruments and invite the Secretariat to intensify its outreach efforts to promote broader adherence to the Joint Convention in particular.

The IAEA peer reviews and advisory services are important tools to assess and improve nuclear safety and we encourage all IAEA Member States to make use of them, in particular ARTEMIS missions. All of the six ARTEMIS missions in 2023 took place in EU Member States and resulted in useful findings and recommendations to improve radioactive waste and spent fuel management, as well as decommissioning and remediation. We are pleased to note that the IRRS Good Practices Database, which is publicly accessible on the Agency's website, is up to date and contains all commendable practices identified from 2016 to 2023 to help Member States to improve their regulatory infrastructure.

Regarding Fukushima, the latest IAEA report indicates that the release of the treated water continues to comply with international safety standards. We value the transparency and expect the Secretariat to continue to provide relevant information to the international community.The EU has made a voluntary contribution of €1 million to support the IAEA and its experts in this task.

Chair,

The EU remains committed to ensuring the highest level of nuclear safety of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). We look forward to an IAEA report on progress made during stage I of the Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI) and the outcomes of the review of IAEA safety standards addressing the safety of SMR technologies. The European Industrial Alliance on SMRs, established by the European Commission in February 2024, will collaborate closely with international bodies, such as the IAEA, on nuclear safety, radioactive waste management and emergency preparedness and response aspects.

It is of strategic importance to build, maintain and further develop human capacity, a high level of nuclear expertise and skills, a strong safety culture and leadership in safety as well as continuity of knowledge in Member States. We stress the importance to further strengthen the independence and capacity of the regulatory authorities and of the Technical Safety and Support Organizations, which should be endowed with adequate human and financial resources to fulfil their tasks. We encourage the Secretariat to further enhance knowledge management and capacity building support to Member States, and welcome the upcoming International Conference in Vienna this December.

Chair,

With these remarks, we take note of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Report contained in document GOV/2024/40.

Thank you, Chair.

[1]North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.