Karl Herchenroeder
RW Monitor
01/29/16
Top officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Union convened last week in Vienna, Austria, where officials vowed to strengthen cooperative efforts on international nuclear safety, waste management, decommissioning, and emergency preparedness and response.
IAEA Chief Coordinator Cornel Feruta said during the senior officials meeting that frequent communication between both organizations at technical and senior levels will be important moving forward to address these goals.
“The EU is an important partner for the IAEA and we are interested in further enhancing this cooperation,” Feruta said. “The IAEA and the EU can work together and contribute to the objectives of the sustainable development agenda.”
IAEA spokesman Jeff Donovan via email noted the organization’s track record in assisting countries enrolled in the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals initiative on nuclear science and technology. The eight goals range from cutting extreme poverty rates and halting the spread of HIV to providing universal primary education. Donovan said the agency is in a position to contribute to the achievement of the programs 17 “sustainable development goals,” a list that includes the provision of affordable and clean energy.
On nuclear safety, the two sides have agreed to hold more frequent meetings, set up working groups on select issues, and develop “a more systematic exchange of information on safety initiatives,” according to Donovan. The list of future events includes another senior officials meeting in Brussels in early 2017, a senior officials’ liaison committee, and project review meetings.
In Vienna, EU officials committed to cooperate with Iran bilaterally, with a focus on nuclear safety, according to IAEA materials on the meeting. Officials also touted the progress of pilot programs involving nuclear applications in health and agriculture in Africa and Asia. Additionally, the two sides discussed regional cooperation, including environmental remediation of uranium legacy sites in Central Asia.
On technical cooperation, the IAEA and the EU agreed that more information should be exchanged on planned activities in EU member states that benefit from the two organizations’ assistance in order to avoid redundant efforts.
