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: Türkiye^§, North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, 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/2023/34-GC(67)/11 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. We encourage all States to join the international nuclear safety and security conventions.

Chair,

We commend the Agency’s important role in assisting Member States to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals through nuclear science and applications under the highest possible safety, security, and non-proliferation conditions. We welcome the IAEA activities that help improve human health, agriculture, food security and water management; combat environmental pollution; and preserve cultural and natural heritage, including important initiatives such as Rays of Hope and NUTEC Plastics.

We appreciate the Agency’s ZODIAC initiative and encourage continued efforts to ensure coordination with other international organisations, in particular the WHO, as well as with other initiatives such as PREZODE and the EU project EKLIPSE.

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 on our societies.

We applaud the progress of the ReNuAL 2 project and the Secretariat’s innovative resource mobilisation strategy, which enables reaching out to non-traditional donors. We call on all Member States in a position to do so to contribute to the project. We also commend the Agency’s work on artificial intelligence for nuclear applications and technologies, and the recent launch of the IAEA’s knowledge- sharing platform for partnership on Artificial Intelligence applications in the nuclear field (“AI for Atoms”).

Chair,

The EU acknowledges the need to ensure energy security at affordable costs and respects the right of Member States to decide on their energy mix and choose the most appropriate technologies to meet the 2030 climate target collectively. The EU notes the preparation by the Secretariat of the 2nd International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power, in October 2023 in Vienna.

The EU strongly supports the Agency’s commitment to contribute to tackling climate change. In that respect, we support the IAEA’s activities to enhance knowledge of mitigation strategies, including its participation in the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and its planned contribution to COP28.

As its largest donor, the EU commends the success of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme and welcomes the launch of the Lise Meitner Programme.

We attach importance to the Agency-wide platform on SMRs and their applications and welcome the efforts of the Secretariat to ensure a cross-departmental approach. We encourage the Secretariat to maintain coordination between the platform and the Nuclear Harmonisation and Standardisation Initiative (NHSI), and request the Agency to elaborate further its strategic vision, programmatic objectives and expected outcomes from this initiative.

The EU appreciates the support provided by the Agency on operation of nuclear power plants and research reactors, including long-term operation, ageing and obsolescence management and the support provided on the fuel cycle, spent fuel and radioactive waste management. The efforts of the Agency to deepen our understanding of all aspects of decommissioning programmes are useful. In that regard, we welcome the successful organisation of the International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning in May 2023 in Vienna and look forward to the International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning, Environmental Protection and Remediation, to be held in Vienna in November 2023.

We commend the IAEA’s support to Member States embarking on or expanding existing nuclear science, technology and application’ programmes, and we take note that the revision of “Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power” will include an annex on infrastructure considerations for small and medium-sized or modular reactors.

Furthermore, we appreciate the attention given to nuclear knowledge management and to the collaboration with European and international actors in this area,

Looking to the future, we welcome the IAEA’s activity related to nuclear fusion and appreciate the Agency’s cooperation with ITER and DEMO projects and the publication of the first “World Survey of Fusion Devices”.

With these comments, Chair, we support the recommended Board action set forth in GOV/2023/34-GC(67)/11 and its Annexes.

Thank you, Chair.

§ Candidate Country

* Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and 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.