SUMMARY
Annual Action Programme 2014 for Nuclear Safety Cooperation to be financed from the general budget of the European Union
1.Identification
Budget heading/ 21 06 01Assistance in the nuclear sector
Total cost / EUR29 346 872of EU contribution
Legal basis / Council Regulation (EURATOM) No 237/2014 of 13 December 2013 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation
2.Thematic background
The Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) emphasises cooperation to promote nuclear safety. Itcovers all non EU countries with a priority on the neighbourhood (East and South) and accession countries. The Commission has proposed new priorities for its activities under the new Regulation:
(a) Promotion of an effective nuclear safety culture and implementation of the highest nuclear safety and radiation protection standards, and continuous improvement of nuclear safety
(b) Responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste (i.e. transport, pre-treatment, treatment, processing, storage and disposal), decommissioning and remediation of former nuclear sites and installations;
(c) Establishment of frameworks and methodologies for the application of efficient and effective safeguards for nuclear material in third countries
The 2014 Action Programme for INSC consists of only one part. It covers directly Central Asia,Iraq, Tanzania and Ukraine and a multi-country project on training and tutoring.
3.Summary of the Action Programme
1) Background:
The EU has a mature nuclear industry and, as a result of its lengthy experience in the field, has the capacity to cooperate with partners in order to ensure that all nuclear activity is conducted in line with the highest standards of safety and security. The Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) with its global geographical scope is the appropriate instrument to undertake the actions of the Commission in the field of nuclear safety and safeguards.
2) Coherence with the programming documents:
The projects are in line with the Regulation governing the INSC Programme[1], the Strategy Paper for Community Cooperation Programmes in the field ofNuclear Safety for the period 2014-2020[2]and the Indicative Programme 2014-2017 for Community Cooperation Programmesin the field of Nuclear Safety[3], as adopted by the Commission.
The strategy determines that the involvement of the European Union in the Nuclear Safety domain should address mainly the following priority policy areas:
- Promotion of an effective nuclear safety culture and implementation of the highest nuclear safety and radiation protection standards
- Safety of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management, including environmental remediation of former nuclear mining sites
- Safeguards
- International cooperation
and targets Accession Countries and countries in the European Neighbourhood area as the priority geographical areas. The strategy also supports work in third countries where there is a need to develop or improve the technical competence of the nuclear regulatory authorities and the respective technical support organization(s).
3) Identified actions
(1)MC4.01/14 (Central Asia) Management and remediation of high risk uranium legacy sites in Central Asia;
(2)IQ.3.01/14 (Iraq) Support to the Regulatory Body of Iraq on Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities and Remediation of Contaminated Sites;
(3)TZ3.01/14 (Tanzania) Support to the Regulatory Authority of Tanzania;
(4)U4.01/14 (Ukraine) Infrastructure improvements for management of legacy radioactive waste and nuclear decommissioning in Ukraine;
(5)U3.01/14 (Ukraine)Support of regulatory activities under implementation of modern safe technologies of radioactive waste management and remediation;
(6)MC.3.01/14 (Training and Tutoring) Multinational and regional Training and Tutoring for experts of the National Regulatory Authorities and their Technical Support Organisations for developing or strengthening their regulatory and technical capabilities;
(7)Global Allocation Support measures 2014 for the INSC management.
4) Expected results:
The expected results are detailed in the individual action fiches and can be summarized as follows:
1) Central Asia: The expected outcome is to strengthen the national capacity for environmental protection against radiological hazards through the successful remediation of contaminated sites. The corresponding multi country project will complete the necessary preparatory work (feasibility study and environmental impact assessment for the last considered site i.e. Mailuu Suu) and initiate a global remediation programme supported by the international community where the European Union will have a leading role.
2) In Iraq, the overall objective of the follow-up project is to strengthen the capabilities of the Iraqi Regulatory Body in the field of radioactive waste management, decommissioningand remediation of contaminated sites.
3) The project in Tanzania supports the National Regulatory Authority in its licensing process of future uranium mining and milling activity, in the licensing process of the Dar Es Salaam seaport for the transport of category 7 materials (i.e. including Uranium) and in the upgrade of its national analytical capabilities. This first INSC project in sub-Saharan Africa has a regional dimension as Tanzania provides analytical services to the neighbouring countries and will outreach the EU support to establish a sound legal and regulatory framework for uranium mining activities.
4) The first project in Ukraine is expected to result in improved infrastructure for radioactive waste management (processing, storage and disposal) and decommissioning, increased capabilities of staff and remediation of selected storage sites.
5) This project is complementary to the previous one as it supports the Regulatory Authority of Ukraine in its supervision and licensing process of activities related to wastemanagement, decommissioning and remediation of selected sites.
6) The main objective of this project is the provision of training and tutoring of the employees (experts) of Regulatory Authorities and their Technical Support Organisations in view of strengthening their capabilities. The cooperation activities will support their effort to become self-sufficient with regard to their tasks and responsibilities in terms of management and technical means.
7) This project stands for the support of programmes and studies, including the preparation of projects and general studies which may result in EU assistance, the support to the implementation of projects or programmes (committees, experts groups, etc.) and the evaluation of their results, missions to be conducted as well as workshops and seminars.
5) Past EU assistance and lessons learnt.
The experience from the implementation of past assistance and cooperation projects (under TACIS and INSC) has shown that nuclear safety improvement requires sustained attention not only at the operational but also at the political level in the partner countries to mobilise funds and to have effective policies and structures in place to achieve an effective impact on Safety in the nuclear-related sectors of the beneficiary countries.
As in many other fields, the ownership of a project by its end-user is a key element for success. Indeed parts of the required work can only be performed effectively if the end-user is fully involved and is ready to embrace the end-results.
6) Complementary actions/donor coordination.
For the implementation of the INSC programme, co-ordination with Member States is important and takes place in meetings held once or twice a year with experts in the various aspects of nuclear safety. Furthermore, strategic, high-level inputs have been provided by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG). Finally, close coordination with IAEA and main international donors is taking place during the programming phase.
4.Communication and visibility
Visibility activities will be implemented according to the EU visibility guidelines for external actions. These guidelines are a part of the contractual obligations of implementing partners/Contractors and must therefore be carried out in the same way as any other contractual element.
On a regular basis, the Contractors will submit Progress Reports to the European Commission, to the Project Partner, the European CommissionDelegation in the Partner Country, the Joint Research Centre and the European CommissionMonitoring Team. Particular attention will be paid to the confidentiality of the data.
Other actions to disseminate results or increase the visibility of the EU action may be implemented in parallel to the present project.
5.Cost and financing
Project / Country / Title / Amount (€)MC4.01/14 / Central Asia / Management and remediation of high risk uranium legacy sites in Central Asia / EUR 11 600 000
IQ3.01/ 14 / Iraq / Support to the Regulatory Body of Iraq on Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities and Remediation of Contaminated Sites / EUR 1 500 000
TZ3.01/14 / Tanzania / Support to the Regulatory Authority of Tanzania / EUR 4 000 000
U4.01/14 / Ukraine / Infrastructure improvements for management of legacy radioactive waste and nuclear decommissioning in Ukraine / EUR 6 200 000
U3.01/14 / Ukraine / Support of regulatory activities under implementation of modern safe technologies of radioactive waste management and remediation / EUR 2 000 000
MC3.01/14 / Multi-country (Training & Tutoring) / Multinational and regional Training and Tutoring for experts of the National Regulatory Authorities and their Technical Support Organisations for developing or strengthening their regulatory and technical capabilities / EUR 3 000 000
Global Allocation / Support measures 2014 for the INSC management / EUR 1 046 872
Total EU contribution to the Annual Action Programme / EUR29 346 872
1
[1]Council Regulation (EURATOM) N° 237/2014 of 13 December 2014 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation - OJEU L 77, 15.03.2014, p. 109-116
[2]Commission decision C(2014) 3763 of 13/6/2014
[3]Commission decision C(2014) 3764 of 13/6/ 2014