EU statement at the IAEA Board of Governors delivered under the agenda item on the Safeguards Implementation Report for 2021 on 8 June 2022
Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following countries align themselves with this statement: Türkiye§, North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Iceland+, Liechtenstein+, Norway+, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.
The European Union thanks the Director General for the Safeguards Implementation Report (SIR) for 2021. We commend the Agency for having again continued safeguards inspections under the difficult circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and we expect conditions to improve in 2022.
Chair,
The unprovoked and unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is impeding the Agency from fully and safely conducting its safeguards verification activities in Ukraine including the necessary verification of material accountancy and control. Since the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Russia in 2014, no IAEA inspections have been conducted at the IR-100 research reactor and only one safeguards inspection has been possible with regard to nuclear material located outside facilities (LOF) in the non-government controlled areas in Eastern Ukraine, Donbas. This has negatively affected the Agency’s ability to draw safeguards conclusions for Ukraine over the past years.
We are deeply concerned about the impact of the Russian invasion on the IAEA’s ability to carry out its verification pursuant to Ukraine’s safeguards obligations under safe and secure conditions and in a timely manner. In particular, we are very concerned about the unsustainable situation in the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant which has been illegally seized by Russia. We hail the Agency’s efforts to continue implementing safeguards in Ukraine despite the challenging circumstances and welcome and strongly support the Director General’s efforts to enable IAEA access to Zaporizhzhia and other nuclear sites.
Chair,
IAEA safeguards are a fundamental component of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). They play an indispensable role in its implementation and help to create an environment conducive to peaceful nuclear co-operation. The EU attaches utmost importance to the integrity of the IAEA safeguards system and strongly supports the Agency's efforts to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of its safeguards system.
For the EU, the Additional Protocol (AP), together with a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), represents the current verification standard. We once again call upon all States that have not yet done so to conclude and bring into force CSAs and APs without delay. In this regard, we welcome the entry into force of CSAs for Eritrea and the Federated States of Micronesia and of APs for Eritrea and Zimbabwe, and encourage continued outreach efforts by the IAEA Director General and IAEA Member States in this regard.
The EU continues to call upon those remaining States which have not yet amended or rescinded their old Small Quantities Protocols (SQPs) to do so, especially countries that are already in the process of building a nuclear power plant or a research reactor. The EU welcomes that Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Maldives, Saint Lucia and Sudan have amended their SQPs to the current standard. We also note with satisfaction that non-operative SQPs were rescinded by Malta and the United Arab Emirates in 2021. The same action was taken by Lithuania earlier this year.
Chair,
The EU supports the implementation of integrated safeguards that allow for the optimised combination of safeguards measures available under the CSA and the AP and thereby increase the effectiveness and efficiency of safeguards implementation. The EU encourages both the Agency and the Member States to resolve outstanding issues so the broader conclusion can be drawn for more States.
The EU supports the State-level Concept (SLC) and the Agency’s continued efforts to develop and implement State-level safeguards approaches (SLAs) in line with its established mandate. We note that in 2021 no additional SLAs were developed but the Agency continued to update SLAs for States with the broader conclusion based on a refined methodology. The EU looks forward to seeing SLAs for additional States in the course of the coming years.
Chair,
The EU provides considerable support to the Agency's safeguards system both through the European Commission Safeguards Support Programme, and through the support programmes of several EU Member States.
The EU underlines the importance for all States to meet their obligations as defined in the safeguards agreement with respect to facilitating access and establishing or strengthening the capacity of their safeguards implementation. The EU duly notes that in 2021, the Agency continued discussions with two States on nuclear material subject to accountancy and reporting procedures under their CSA. With one of these States, discussions also continued on the completeness of the design information provided by the State to the Agency. The EU also noted during the presentation of the report that the IAEA expects to finalise these discussions by the end of this year. We encourage the countries concerned to cooperate fully with the Agency and solve these issues satisfactorily as soon as possible.
The EU welcomes the start of the implementation of COMPASS, the IAEA Comprehensive Capacity-Building Initiative for State Systems of Accounting for and Control (SSACs) and State or regional authorities responsible for safeguards implementation (SRAs) in seven pilot states.
Finally, the EU also welcomes the organisation of the 14th IAEA Symposium on International Safeguards to be held end of October this year.
With these comments, the EU supports the recommended Board action set forth in GOV/2022/25.
Thank you, Chair.
§ Candidate Country
* Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania as well as potential Candidate Country Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
+ Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are members of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.