Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

We recall that IAEA safeguards are a fundamental component of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and help create an environment conducive to peaceful nuclear cooperation. The EU attaches utmost importance to the integrity of the IAEA safeguards system and strongly supports the Agency's efforts to strengthen its effectiveness and improve its efficiency.

For the EU, the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, together with Additional Protocols, represent the current verification standard under the NPT. We encourage the Director General and all IAEA Member States to actively promote the universalisation of these instruments, as outlined in the Joint Working Paper entitled “Strengthening the IAEA Safeguards” presented to the third NPT Preparatory Committee this year. Additional Protocols are indispensable for the IAEA to fulfil its mandate and provide credible assurance not only about the non-diversion of declared nuclear material, but also about the absence of undeclared material and activities.

We congratulate all those whose agreements have recently entered into force and call upon all remaining States to conclude and bring into force Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols without further delay.

We are pleased to note that for the first time, the IAEA has drawn a broader conclusion for Morocco, bringing the total number of such conclusions to 75. The EU notes that for 61 States with a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol in force, the evaluation process is still ongoing for drawing a broader conclusion. 

The EU supports the implementation of integrated safeguards and the State-level Concept as a way to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of safeguards application. We welcome the extended details provided by the Secretariat in this year’s report and look forward to additional information on these approaches as they continue to be further developed and implemented.

20 years ago the IAEA Board of Governors decided to revise the standard text for Small Quantities Protocols. We note with concern that the Agency could not draw any safeguards conclusions for States that continue to have the outdated protocol. The EU urgently calls on those remaining States which have yet to do so, to update their protocols to the current standard, or to rescind them. 

Chair,

We echo the Director General’s serious concerns that the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, unless and until Iran resolves the outstanding safeguards issues. 

The EU applauds the IAEA for its active role in implementing safeguards in Ukraine despite Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We regret that the Agency was again not able to draw the broader conclusion for Ukraine, due to conditions that prevent the Agency from verifying certain nuclear material previously declared by Ukraine. However, the much valued work of Agency inspectors helped the IAEA to draw the safeguards conclusion for 2024. We note that the Agency did not find indications that would give rise to a proliferation concern.

Chair,

The EU provides considerable support to the Agency's safeguards system through the Support Programmes of the European Commission and of EU Member States, and other financial and in-kind contributions. The EU remains committed to further strengthening the IAEA safeguards system and building the necessary capacities to meet the expected challenges and needs worldwide.

The EU welcomes that the Agency has initiated the new implementation cycle of COMPASS whose growing network of partners includes the European Commission and eight EU Member States. We note that consultations continued between the Agency and States planning to develop naval nuclear propulsion programmes, on the arrangements required under their respective safeguards agreements.

We are pleased to see the increase in the number of women in the Safeguards Department and encourage the Secretariat to continue its efforts towards achieving gender equality, including at senior management level.

With these comments, the EU supports the recommended Board action set forth in the Safeguards Implementation Report 2024. 

Thank you, Chair.