REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation Second Report - Annual Action Programmes for 2010 and 2011
Date: 2012-12-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, Russia, developing countries, environmental risk prevention, former socialist countries, nuclear accident, radiation protection, radioactive waste, radioactivity, technical cooperation

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 18.12.2012  
COM(2012) 771 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

on the implementation of the 

Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation 

Second Report - Annual Action Programmes for 2010 and 2011 

{SWD(2012) 436 final} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 4 

INSC IMPLEMENTATION BY BENEFICIARY...................................................... 6 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANNUAL ACTION PROGRAMMES  
IN FIGURES................................................................................................................ 8 

CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................ 11 

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SUMMARY 

This  Report  and  the  accompanying  Document  to  this  Report  relate  to  all  Instrument  for 
Nuclear Safety Cooperation's (INSC) Annual Action Programmes (AAPs) since 2007 that are 
still on-going in 2010 and 2011. It also describes the developments with respect to the AAPs 
2010 and 2011. 

The  Instrument  for  Nuclear  Safety  Cooperation  (INSC  2007-2013)  came  into  force  on  1 
January  2007.  Its  main  objectives  are  to  support  the  promotion  of  a  high  level  of  nuclear 
safety, radiation protection and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear 
material in non-EU countries, worldwide. 

In  2010  and  2011,  the  INSC  programme  continued  the  nuclear  safety  cooperation  initiated 
with the countries of the former Soviet Union under the TACIS (Technical Assistance to the 
Commonwealth of Independent States) program (see Art. 18 Report 2007-2009)1, but it had 
its  geographical  coverage  extended  to  become  global.  The  Indicative  Programme  for  2010-
2011 and the Annual Action Programmes (AAP) for the respective years were adopted by the 
Commission taking into account the opinion of the INSC Committee.  

The  main  goals  of  INSC  over  the  period  2010-2011  were  strengthening  the  regulatory 
authorities in the Beneficiary Countries, to promote an effective nuclear safety culture at all 
levels  and  to  improve  the  safe  and  responsible  management  of  spent  fuel  and  radioactive 
waste.  

Cooperation in the domain of nuclear safety was progressively re-oriented towards a greater 
involvement with third countries' nuclear regulatory authorities as well as to radioactive waste 
management and site remediation. In this respect, the continued efforts on the remediation of 
legacy uranium mining and processing sites in Central Asia should be highlighted. 

Following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, the Commission invited countries covered by the 
EU  Neighbourhood  Policy  to  participate  in  the  discussions  aimed  at  extending  the 
comprehensive risk and safety assessments ("stress tests") of operating nuclear power plants 
(NPPs), including a peer review of national reports, since it was considered that some of these 
countries  might  benefit  from  cooperating  with  the  Commission,  in  the  framework  of  the 
INSC,  in  carrying  out  the  exercise.  Ukraine  decided  to  follow  the  same  schedule  as  for  the 
stress  tests  within  the  European  Union  without  requiring  INSC  support.  Armenia  requested 
technical support to carry out the tests, which was included under the INSC AAP 2011 part II. 

The  main  developments  on  nuclear  safety  cooperation  and  assistance  provided  under  the 
INSC  in  2010  and  2011  are  described  in  the  Report  below.  Further  details  on  the  projects 
under  the  Action  Programmes  from  2007  to  2011  are  provided  in  the  Commission  Staff 
Working Document accompanying this Report. 

1 

Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  the  implementation  of  the  Instrument  for 
Nuclear Safety Cooperation – First Report – Annual Action Programmes for 2007, 2008 and 2009 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This  Report  is  submitted  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council,  and  addressed  to  the 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  to  the  Committee  of  Regions,  in  compliance  with  the 
reporting requirement set out in Article 18 of Council Regulation (EURATOM) No 300/2007 
of 19 February 2007 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation2 referred here 
below as the INSC Regulation.  

To address the safety concerns raised by Member States after the Chernobyl accident, in 1991 
the Commission launched the nuclear safety component of the TACIS programme. Between 
1991 and 2006, more than €1.3 billion were committed to nuclear safety projects. 

Since 2007, the EU's nuclear safety assistance and cooperation activities continued under the 
Instrument  for  Nuclear  Safety  Cooperation  (INSC)3.  The  INSC  has  introduced  a  number  of 
changes compared to the TACIS Nuclear Safety Programme which are worth noting. 

First,  the  geographical  coverage  was  no  longer  limited  to  the  states  of  the  former  Soviet 
Union.  It  applies  to  third  countries  worldwide.  This  allows  the  Commission's  experience 
gained under the TACIS4 programme to be used elsewhere to address the needs of emerging 
countries, as well as countries with established nuclear power programmes in need of nuclear 
safety improvement, in particular those with rapidly expanding nuclear programmes. In 2008, 
the  Commission  announced  its  broad  strategy  in  a  Communication  to  the  Council  and 
Parliament5. 

In  view  of  the  potential  needs  for  nuclear  safety  cooperation  worldwide,  the  EU  Council 
proposed a set of criteria to be observed when considering projects with new countries6. The 
Commission  took  these  criteria  into  account  in  its  revised  INSC  Strategy  for  2010-20137 
which defined also geographical priorities. 

Second,  the  TACIS  programme  focused  on  nuclear  safety  assistance  including,  in  many 
cases,  supply  of  equipment  ("hard  assistance"),  whereas  the  INSC  objective  is  enhanced 
cooperation with a view to improving nuclear safety including the supply of equipment only 

2 

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4 

5 

6 

7 

Art.  18  of  the  INSC  Regulation  requires  that  'The  Commission  shall  examine  progress  achieved  in 
implementing  the  measures  undertaken  pursuant  to  this  Regulation  and  shall  submit  to  the  European 
Parliament and the Council an annual report on the implementation of the assistance. The Report shall 
also be addressed to the Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of Regions. The Report 
shall  contain  information  relating  to  the  previous  year  on  the  measures  financed,  information  on  the 
results  of  monitoring  and  evaluation  exercises  and  the  implementation  of  budget  commitments  and 
payments, broken down by country, region and cooperation sector'. 
Council Regulation (Euratom) No 300/2007 of 19 February 2007 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear 
Safety Cooperation (OJ L 81, 22.3.2007, p. 1). 
TACIS  (Technical  Assistance  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Independent  States)  was  the  European 
Commission  Programme  to  assist  12  countries  of  Eastern  Europe  and  Central  Asia  (Armenia, 
Azerbaijan,  Belarus,  Georgia,  Kazakhstan,  Kyrgyzstan,  Moldova,  the  Russian  Federation,  Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan,  Ukraine  and  Uzbekistan)  and  Mongolia  in  their  transition  towards  democratic  market-
oriented economies. 
See the Communication "Addressing the international challenge of nuclear safety and security" (COM 
(2008) 312 final, 22 May 2008  
Council Conclusions on assistance to 3rd countries in the field of nuclear safety and security, 9 Dec. 
2008. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/104601.pdf 
Revised Strategy for Community Cooperation Programmes in the field of Nuclear Safety for the period 
2010-2013 ( C(2009)0922 ) 

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in a limited number of cases or without supply of equipment at all (‘soft assistance’). Partners 
are  also  encouraged  to  take  a  more  active  role  in  the  definition,  management  and 
implementation of the programme and projects. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  promote  co-financing  arrangements  with  partner 
organisations  generally  providing  contributions  in  kind  (staff)  and  in  supplies  or  works 
(additional studies, civil works) on the basis of “a priori” detailed financing plans. 

Third, the enlarged geographical scope of the INSC, compared to TACIS, increased the need 
for  international  cooperation  and  coordination  of  actions  with  other  donors  and  the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

The present Report provides information on the Annual Action Programmes (AAPs) for 2010 
and  2011,  including  projects  approved  until  the  end  of  2011  and  their  status  of 
implementation by mid 2012. Projects foreseen under these AAPs for which the contracting 
procedure had not yet been started are not mentioned. 

Initial  difficulties  in  the  transition  phase  from  TACIS  to  INSC,  due  primarily  to  delays  in 
getting  partner  countries  to  sign  Financing  Agreements  under  the  new  format,  have 
meanwhile been largely overcome, with the exception of the Russian Federation and Brazil. 

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2. 

INSC IMPLEMENTATION BY BENEFICIARY 

In Ukraine, the INSC continued providing targeted support to the nuclear regulator and the 
NPP  operator  in  improving  nuclear  safety.  It  continued  also  to  provide  support  to  the 
radioactive waste management and nuclear safeguards in general. Ukraine remained the main 
beneficiary  of  INSC  programme.  The  Chernobyl  Shelter  Fund  (CSF)  received  additional 
funds in 2010 and 2011 in order to complete the New Safe Confinement by 2015. 

In the Russian Federation, projects initiated under the TACIS programme continued under 
the  INSC,  but  no  new  projects  were  possible  since  a  suitable  cooperation  framework  could 
still  not  be  agreed.  Discussions  continued  to  explore  possibilities  to  resume  cooperation 
avail. 
activities 

reduced 

scope, 

with 

but 

no 

to 

a 

In  Armenia,  important  projects  were  launched  concerning  the  Medzamor  Nuclear  Power 
Plant to address urgent safety issues while the plant is operating. However, the Commission 
continued to maintain the position that the plant cannot be upgraded to modern nuclear safety 
standards  and  therefore  should  be  closed  down  and  decommissioned  as  soon  as  possible. 
Projects  provided  for  training  of  human  resources,  assistance  to  the  nuclear  regulator  and 
development  of  a  radioactive  waste  management  strategy  in  preparation  for  future  NPP 
decommissioning. 

In Belarus and Georgia, cooperation continued with relatively small projects supporting both 
countries' nuclear regulators as well as projects on radioactive waste management in Georgia. 
For Belarus, discussions took place to step-up the cooperation with the regulator in order to 
improve  its  capabilities  in  anticipation  of  the  construction  of  a  nuclear  power  plant  in  the 
country.  

A  regional  project  aiming  at  creating  a  legislative  and  regulatory  framework  for  the 
remediation of uranium mining legacy sites in Central Asia was agreed. Cooperation projects 
with  Kyrgyzstan,  Tajikistan  and  Uzbekistan  are  aimed  at  the  remediation  of  various 
uranium production legacy sites, and there is a cooperation project with Mongolia aimed at 
establishing a regulatory framework for uranium mines and milling operations and training. 

The Programme was extended to new countries in three regions: 

Countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy: the cooperation projects under 
INSC  provided  support  to  nuclear  regulators;  capacity  building  projects  were  launched  in 
Egypt,  Jordan  and  Morocco.  However,  the  political  events  (Arab  spring),  among  others, 
have  delayed  the  process.  A  project  on  building  capabilities  in  decommissioning,  site  and 
radioactive waste management started in Iraq (under the Instrument for Stability). This work 
will be extended, as foreseen in AAP 2011, through a project to establish the safe disposal of 
radioactive waste from various closed-down nuclear installations. 

South-East  Asia:  Projects  to  support  regulatory  authorities  were  approved  for  the 
Philippines  (not  yet  initiated)  and  Vietnam  (started  in  mid-2012).  A  proposed  project 
concerning Malaysia was deferred to AAP 2012. 

Latin America: Projects were launched with the nuclear safety regulator and the operator in 
Brazil under AAP 2009 and 2010 (the AAP 2010 Part II Financing Agreement concerning the 
nuclear operator project was not signed by the Brazilian authorities by end 2011, as required, 
the  project  had  therefore  to  be  cancelled).  Contacts  were  also  established  with  Mexico  and 
Argentina, and the first visits took place in 2010. For Mexico, a project to support the nuclear 

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regulator  as  well  as  a  project  to  develop  a  policy  and  strategy  for  the  management  of  spent 
fuel  and  radioactive  waste  were  approved  under  AAP  2010  and  have  started  in  2012. 
However,  so  far,  no  agreement  was  reached  concerning  the  possibilities  for  nuclear  safety 
cooperation with Argentina. 

China: a cooperation project with the Chinese National Nuclear Regulatory Authority and its 
TSO was approved under AAP 2011. It is aimed at enhancing the nuclear safety regulatory 
regime in China in accordance with internationally recognized standards and best practices, as 
well as strengthening China's preparedness for severe accidents and to assist in developing a 
strategy for the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. 

Cooperation  with  the  IAEA  has  been  extended  to  support  thematic  technical  activities  at 
country or regional level. Its aim was to further develop the safety culture, capacity building 
of regulators, waste management, research reactors safety and seismic safety. 

Significant  financial  support  was  provided  to  the  Chernobyl  Shelter  Fund  (CSF)  and  the 
Nuclear  Safety  Account  (NSA),  managed  by  the  EBRD  on  behalf  of  the  donor  countries. 
The stabilisation works of the existing shelter of the Chernobyl unit 4 were completed. The 
design  of  the  New  Safe  Confinement  as  well  as  the  preparation  of  the  site  for  its  assembly 
were approaching completion during the reporting period. In a Pledging Conference in Kiev 
in April 2011, coinciding with the commemorations of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl 
accident, the €740 million needed to complete th e project were pledged. The major projects 
continued to progress according to the cost and schedule agreed in 2010 and their completion 
is foreseen for October 20158. 

8 

TACIS nuclear safety projects on radioactive waste management were still on-going at the Chernobyl 
NPP site during the reporting period.  

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3. 

IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE  ANNUAL  ACTION  PROGRAMMES  IN 
FIGURES 

The  INSC  Regulation  was  adopted  on  19  February  2007.  The  2007-2013  Strategy  and  the 
first  Indicative  Programme  covering  2007-20099  were  adopted  by  the  Commission  on  8 
August 2007. The Indicative Programme for 2010-2011 was approved and adopted in 200910. 

Due to the time required for the adoption of Action Programmes, on an annual basis, and the 
lengthy approval period by the partner countries, the implementation of most projects under 
INSC  only  started  in  2009  and  the  implementation  of  most  projects  under  AAP  2010  and 
2011 was due to start in 2012. 

Annual Action Programme for 2010 (AAP2010) 

Allocations 

AAP2010 was presented in two parts: 
Part I – €7.7 million 11 

– 

– 

Part II – €61.627 million 12 

Implementation highlights by mid 2012 

The  Financing  Agreements  concerning  AAP  2010  Part  II  projects  were  all  signed  with  the 
exception of the one concerning the Brazilian operator (Brazil did not conclude the Financial 
Agreement  by  the  end  of  2011  and  the  respective  project  was  cancelled).  AAP  2010  Part  I 
projects did not require Financing Agreements13.  

Under AAP 2010, contracts have so far been signed with Jordan (a project of €1.2 million was 
contracted to provide assistance related to developing and strengthening the capabilities of the 
Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Authority) and Mexico (2 projects amounting to some €3 million 
were  contracted  concerning  cooperation  with  the  Regulatory  Authority  of  Mexico  and 
cooperation in the development of a policy and strategy for the management of spent nuclear 
fuel and radioactive waste in Mexico). Furthermore, contracts were signed for "multi-country" 
projects  (three  projects  for  €3.475  million  to  establish  connecting  networks  to  enhance 
communication  and  training  systems  in  radioactive  waste  management  as  well  as  several 
training and tutoring activities for regulator and TSO experts) and "multi-IAEA" projects (€4 
million  contribution  to  support  IAEA  projects  managed  by  Technical  Cooperation  and 
Nuclear Installation Safety Departments). 

In  December  2010,  a  payment  of  €17  million  wa s  made  to  the  Chernobyl  Shelter  Fund  in 
anticipation of the 4th EU pledge by the Commission, which was to be made in 2011. 

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10 
11 
12 
13 

Commission Decision C/2007/3758 of 01.08.2007 

Commission Decision C/2009/9820 of 08.12.2009 

Commission Decision C (2010) 4283 of 29 June 2010 

Commission Decision C (2010) 8265 of 29 November 2010 

Part I projects of AAP 2010 and 2011 did/do not require a Financing Agreement since they are usually 
managed by direct payments to i.e. international organisations. These payments require a Contribution 
Agreement instead.  

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Annual Action Programme for 2011 (AAP2011) 

Allocations  

AAP2011 was also presented in two parts: 
Part I – €38.7 million 14 

– 

– 

Part II – €35.9 million 15  

Implementation highlights by mid-2012 

The Financing Agreements concerning AP 2011 Part II projects were being prepared or being 
transmitted to partner countries. They need to be signed before the end of 2012.. AP 2011 Part 
I projects did not require Financing Agreements. 

Under AAP 2011, a contract was signed to support the operator in the implementation of the 
"stress tests" at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP). A second contract was signed to 
support the Armenian nuclear regulator (ANRA) in reviewing the operator's self-assessment 
report. These technical support projects amounting to some €1.8 million were being prepared 
for implementation. It is worth noting the fact that the Armenian government had accepted to 
participate in the comprehensive risk and safety assessment exercise ("stress tests") launched 
by the EU and joined by neighbour countries.  

In  April  2011  the  Commission  pledged  €122  million  in  EU  support  to  the  two  Chernobyl 
Funds "Chernobyl Shelter Funds" and "Nuclear Safety Account" at a Pledging Conference in 
Kiev. The Pledging conference raised in total €740 million, the sum needed to complete the 
projects according to the cost estimates and schedule agreed in 2010. Over the period covered 
by this Report the Chernobyl projects continued to progress according to the agreed cost and 
schedule, the completion is foreseen for October 2015. A third instalment of €34 million was 
paid to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund under AAP 2011, in accordance with the pledge made in 
2011. 

14 
15 

Commission Decision C (2011) 5784 of 17 August 2011 
Commission Decision C (2011) 9268 of 16 December 2011 

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Summary table 

YEAR 

2010 

2011 

Funds  
Committed16 

69,327 

74,608 

Use of INSC Programme funds  
(€ million - situation by mid 2012) 

Contracted  

Paid 

35,908 

37,002 

22,940 

34,423 

16 

Primary commitments = final commitments under AAP 2010 and AAP 2011 

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4. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The present Report is limited in terms of achievements and impact due to the relatively early 
stage  of  implementation  of  the  INSC  programme.  During  the  reporting  period,  only  a  few 
projects  have  been  completed.  Most  projects  are  under  preparation  or  currently  being 
implemented. 

As of mid 2012, some 50 projects under the AAPs 2007-2009 and a further 30 projects under 
the AAPs for 2010 and 2011 are at various stages of implementation. Several of these projects 
are  split  into  a  number  of  different  sub-projects  for  separate  contracting.  Contracting 
documents are currently under preparation for most projects under the AAPs 2010 and 2011. 
All of these projects are fully compliant with the objectives of the INSC Regulation. 

The  enhancement  of  the  nuclear  safety  culture  through  INSC  incorporates  lessons  learned 
from  the  TACIS  Nuclear  Safety  programme,  while  properly  addressing  emerging  needs 
within a mandate no longer restricted to the former Soviet Union. 

The INSC programme continued the actions initiated under TACIS, mainly in Eastern Europe 
but,  progressively,  cooperation  was  extended  in  geographical  scope  as  well  as  in  content. 
Cooperation with nuclear regulators continued to grow while that with operators was scaled 
down and the development of responsible management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive 
waste, decommissioning and site remediation gained increasing importance. Contributions to 
the Chernobyl Funds continued to consume a significant part of the yearly budget, but these 
should end in 2013. 

The geographical coverage of the programme increased steadily from four countries in 2007 
to some 15 countries in 2010 and 2011, cooperation with others continued to be explored. The 
number of beneficiary countries was expected to reach 17 with the AAP 2012. 

The INSC implementation in 2010 and 2011 is considered to be well-targeted, the approved 
projects  well-conceived  and  the  projects,  once  contracted  (only  a  limited  number  had  been 
contracted  so  far),  were  developing  well.  When  successfully  implemented,  they  will 
contribute  significantly  to  enhancing  nuclear  safety  and  nuclear  safety  culture  in  the 
beneficiary countries. 

The discontinuation of cooperation with the Russian Federation under the INSC in the fields 
of  nuclear  regulation,  improvement  of  operational  safety  and  establishment  of  responsible 
management  of  radioactive  waste,  decommissioning  and  remediation  was  a  disappointing 
development. Considering the impact also on neighbouring countries, the fact that the Russian 
Federation is a major exporter of nuclear technology and the mutual benefits that would result 
from  further  cooperation  between  the  EU  and  the  Russian  Federation,  the  Commission  will 
continue  to  seek  ways  for  effective  and  mutually  satisfactory  cooperation  with  the  Russian 
Federation on a partnership basis. 

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