EU Statement on Agenda item 4: Strengthening the Agency’s activities related to nuclear science, technology and applications: Nuclear technology review 2026

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Serbia and Ukraine. 

We would like to thank the Director General and the Secretariat for this review. We recognize the significant contribution of radiation and nuclear technology applications to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. We also reaffirm that the Agency’s work on nuclear science, technology and applications underpins the inalienable right of all States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in accordance with Article IV of the NPT.

The EU remains committed to ensuring the responsible, safe and secure development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We acknowledge the need to ensure energy security and respect the right of Member States to decide on their energy mix and to choose the most appropriate technologies to collectively achieve our climate target. We recognize that nuclear technologies can be of great help to mitigate the consequences of global warming and monitor its impact. We strongly support the Agency’s commitment to contribute to tackling climate change, and support its participation in the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP).

Chair,

We appreciate the IAEA’s support to use nuclear science and technologies towards achieving sustainable development and addressing current and future development challenges. We welcome the Director General’s initiatives, - including ZODIAC, Rays of Hope, NUTEC Plastics and Atoms4Food - which translate research into real-world impact. Recognising the Agency’s engagement in the field of food security, we welcome the role of the Group of Friends of Food Security in Vienna, co-chaired now by the EU Delegation and Sudan.

We support the numerous advances made in the field of nuclear medicine and human health, including the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We welcome the developments in innovative radiation technologies and isotopic tracing techniques for improving food safety and security, agriculture, water resources management and marine environment protection. Acknowledging the growing demand for medical radioisotopes, we also welcome the increasing number of medical isotope production facilities worldwide.

Furthermore, considering the ongoing construction of research reactors in some EU Member States, we welcome the IAEA’s work related to the applications of accelerators and research reactors as examples of societal relevance and illustrate the impact of nuclear technologies.

Chair,

The EU takes note of the global trends in nuclear power highlighted in the Agency’s Review. We reiterate that, when using nuclear technology, it is essential that countries firmly comply with international legal instruments, especially safeguards agreements. Countries must act in full respect of the highest level of nuclear safety and environmental sustainability, in accordance with the IAEA safety standards and security guidance. 

The “European Industrial Alliance” has adopted its first Strategic Action Plan, aiming to accelerate the development, demonstration and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMR). As some EU Member States continue to monitor developments in SMRs or have included them in their technology considerations, we attach importance to the IAEA’s work on SMRs and their applications.

Chair,

As underlined in the Agency’s Review, the ageing global nuclear fleet highlights the need for timely and adequate implementation of measures related to ageing management and long-term operation, as well as reasonably practicable safety improvements. We appreciate the Agency’s support to Member States on long-term operation, ageing and obsolescence management.

Important decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and projects aiming at the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste and long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel, are underway in EU Member States. The efforts of the Agency to deepen the understanding of all aspects of those programmes are extremely valuable.

Looking at the future, we will continue our involvement in fusion research. Members of the EUROfusion Consortium participated in the 2025 IAEA Fusion Energy conference where they signed a high-level cooperation agreement with ITER to establish a framework for a more targeted and coordinated European contribution to ITER over the next two years.

Furthermore, the European Commission is finalising the EU Fusion Strategy to be released in 2026, seeking to establish a competitive ecosystem, grounded in research excellence and dedicated to solving the challenge of commercial fusion.

With these comments, we support the recommended Board action set forth in GOV/2026/5.

Thank you, Chair.