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: Turkey^§, North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine^*, the Republic of Moldova^*, Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, Georgia, Iceland⁺, Norway⁺ and Armenia.

The European Union would like to thank the Director General for his report contained in document GOV/2022/30-GC(66)/9 on "Strengthening the Agency’s Activities Related to Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications".

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, in accordance with Article IV of the NPT. The Agency’s activities assist Member States and foster international cooperation in further development of the application of radiation and nuclear technologies that significantly contributes to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. Nuclear technologies can also be of great help to fight global warming, mitigate its consequences and monitor its impact. The EU remains committed to ensuring the responsible, safe and secure development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The EU welcomes the launch of the portal dedicated to the Agency’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative to support Member States in addressing emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases through nuclear science and technology. We appreciate the effort of the Agency to ensure coordination of this initiative with other international organisations in particular the WHO as well as with other initiatives such as PREZODE, the EU project EKLIPSE and the EU Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.

The completion of the final stage of the ReNuAL 2 project is crucial to meet the growing and evolving demands of Member States in the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. We commend the resource mobilization efforts of the Secretariat in this area and encourage Member States in a position to do so to support this effort.

The EU welcomes the recent launch of the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative and is looking forward to interesting discussions during the Scientific Forum of the 66^th IAEA General Conference on the work of the Secretariat and IAEA Member States in the fight against cancer.

We appreciate the Agency’s work related to the applications of accelerators and research reactors in environmental studies and cultural heritage characterisation, among others, which are examples of the relevance and impact of nuclear technologies to our societies.

 Chair,

The EU acknowledges the need to ensure energy security at affordable cost and respects the right of Member States to decide on their energy mix and choose the most appropriate technologies to collectively achieve the 2030 climate target. The EU notes the preparation by the Secretariat of the 5^th International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century, to be held next month in Washington, D.C.

Nuclear technologies can contribute to addressing climate change, mitigating and adapting to its consequences, and monitoring its impact. The EU strongly supports the Agency’s commitment to contribute to tackling climate change. In that respect, we support IAEA activities to enhance knowledge on mitigation strategies, including its participation in the COP26. We welcome the IAEA’s planned contribution to the COP27.

We attach importance to the Agency-wide platform on SMRs and their Applications and renew our call to the Department of Energy to provide more information to Member States on its activities and a cross-departmental approach. We encourage the Secretariat to ensure coordination between the platform and the newly launched Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI), including in development of generic user requirements and criteria as well as codes and standards for SMRs.

Important decommissioning projects are underway in the EU. The efforts of the Agency to build on existing experience and deepen the understanding of all aspects of decommissioning programmes are extremely valuable. Projects aiming at the deep geological disposal of high level radioactive waste are also progressing in several EU Member States, and the EU appreciates the support provided by the Agency on spent fuel and radioactive waste management.

Furthermore, the EU appreciates the attention given to nuclear knowledge management and to the collaboration with European and international actors, such as the European Commission and the OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency, in this area.

Looking to the future, we continue our involvement in fusion research, in particular through our support to the ITER and DEMO projects, and we welcome further cooperation with the Agency.

With these comments, we support the recommended Board action set forth in GOV/2022/30-GC(66)/9 and its Annexes.

Thank you, Chair.

§ Candidate Country

* Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, as well as potential Candidate Country Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

+ Iceland and Norway are members of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.