On Wednesday 15 February in Brussels, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) took steps to strengthen their cooperation in a range of nuclear activities including nuclear science applications during the fifth annual Senior Officials Meeting (SOM).
The talks focused on enhancing collaboration in nuclear safety, security, safeguards, sustainable development, nuclear energy research, innovation and nuclear science applications. According to a European External Action Service (EEAS) press release, mechanisms to strengthen regional cooperation were also discussed, as well as the issue of the environmental remediation of uranium legacy sites in Central Asia.
The EU reaffirmed its political, financial and technical support for the IAEA's core responsibilities in the field of non-proliferation, nuclear safety and nuclear security. The SOM acknowledged that nuclear safety is a “key priority” that will remain at the centre of their cooperation and reiterated their willingness to work towards an ambitious implementation of the “Vienna Declaration” supporting continuous safety improvements for countries that operate or are building new nuclear power plants, including in the EU neighbourhood.
The EU emphasised that issues linked with the back end of the life cycle of nuclear facilities, such as decommissioning and radioactive waste management, should receive additional attention and increased stakeholder involvement.
The EU reasserted its support for the IAEA activities relating to the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) adopted in 2015 by the permanent members of the UN security Council, China, US, France, United Kingdom and Russia) in addition to Germany, the EU and Iran as a means of lifting dissensions on the latter, in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s long-term nuclear programme. The EU has reaffirmed its support for these activities. The EU will provide technical support to the IAEA such as equipment and training. The EU also provided information about its bilateral cooperation with Iran in implementing the JCPOA on safety.
Discussions also focused on EU support for the IAEA’s activities in the nuclear security domain, particularly for strengthening protection of nuclear and radioactive materials by drawing on the results from the international conference in 2016 on nuclear security. The different parties also discussed the IAEA Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan.
The next meeting of this kind is planned for the beginning of 2018 in Vienna (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)