Bernard Allen
Question:129 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the consideration which has been given by the GAERC of the EU on nuclear safety in former Soviet states and in the Indian sub-continent. [21130/03]
Written Answers. - International Nuclear Safety.
As nuclear safety in Europe is one of the European Union's primary concerns, the EU decided to take a prominent role in international efforts to help ensure the safety of nuclear materials in the former Soviet states. Therefore the EU has a number of projects focused on promoting nuclear safety which require the mandate of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, GAERC. The Union's approach to nuclear safety is manifested chiefly through the priorities of its common strategies on Russia and Ukraine, the Phare – Programme of Community aid to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe – and Tacis – Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States nuclear safety programmes; clauses in its partnership and co-operation agreements and EU environmental initiatives. The member states have charged the European Commission with the responsibility of developing and managing the programmes and agreements in this area.
Nuclear safety in the Russian Federation is a particular priority for the EU. As part of the Union's common strategy on Russia, a joint action was adopted on 17 December 1999 to assist the Russian Federation in its disarmament and non-proliferation efforts related to weapons of mass destruction, WMD. In the nuclear field, the joint action includes a project concerning the disposition of ex-weapons plutonium. At the GAERC in July 2003, the EU agreed to extend the period of application of the common strategy for a further year until 24 June 2004. The common strategy on Ukraine also includes co-operation in the field of nuclear safety.
The Russian Federation signed the multilateral nuclear environmental programme, MNEPR, with the EC and EURATOM on 21 May 2003. The MNEPR agreement establishes a coherent and comprehensive multilateral legal framework for nuclear-related projects carried out by western countries in northwest Russia. The purpose of the MNEPR is to facilitate co-operation regarding, inter alia, the safety of spent nuclear fuel, the management of nuclear waste and the decommissioning of nuclear submarines and icebreakers in the Russian Federation. North-west Russia contains the largest repository of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in the world. Nuclear safety is therefore a major element of the northern dimension environmental partnership, NDEP, developed during the course of 2001 in response to calls from the Russian Federation and the international community for a concerted effort to address environmental problems in the region, including the Baltic Sea area. The GAERC in December 2002 noted the annual progress report by the Commission on the implementation of the northern dimension. This report restated the EU's support for the promotion of nuclear safety in Russia.
The EU also continues to include nuclear safety as a key element of its strategy of promoting energy and environmental reform in the former Soviet states through the Phare and Tacis programmes and through EURATOM loans. The Tacis programme provides grant-financed technical assistance to promote nuclear safety in 12 countries of eastern Europe and central Asia – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – while the Phare programme covers Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which will join the EU next year, and for whom nuclear power still remains an important part of their energy infrastructure. The current Tacis programme stresses the promotion of an effective nuclear safety culture, the decommissioning of spent fuel and nuclear waste and implementing initiatives to close Chernobyl. The three acceding states are assisted as part of their pre-EU accession packages. Lithuania, for instance, was given funding by the EU to assist in the closure of certain units of its Ignalina nuclear power plant.
Although member states make contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical co-operation fund, the EU has no role in developing or managing nuclear safety programmes or initiatives in the Indian sub-continent.