REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of the work under the nuclear decommissioning assistance programme to Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania in 2020 and previous years
Date: 2021-05-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU programme, Lithuania, Slovakia, decommissioning of power stations, nuclear policy, nuclear power station, nuclear safety, principle of additionality, radioactive waste

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.5.2021  COM(2021) 235 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of the work under the nuclear decommissioning assistance programme to Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania in 2020 and previous years                            
 
 
Key messages 

When  they  joined  the  EU,  Bulgaria,  Slovakia  and  Lithuania  undertook  to  shut  down, 
before the end of their scheduled lifetime, eight  reactors based on older Soviet designs. 
The EU committed itself to providing financial assistance for the safe decommissioning 
of the reactors. Two Council Regulations governing the EU support in 2014-2020 set out 
the objectives against which this report reviews progress in 2020. 

to  make  effective  progress 

Bulgaria,  Slovakia  and  Lithuania  continued 
in 
decommissioning their nuclear power plants in 2020. Dismantling activities are ongoing 
and the recovered materials are being recycled or treated as radioactive waste. The cost 
of the work carried out since 2014 is within budget and delays in individual projects have 
been compensated by re-planning future activities. However, in all three programmes, the 
risk  of  postponing  the  end-date  increased  and  a  reassessment  of  the  schedule  will  be 
required.  These  possible  adjustments  will  not  impact  the  EU  financial  support  to  the 
Kozloduy, Bohunice and Ignalina programmes during the MFF 2021-2027. In Ignalina, 
the selection of the technical solution for the dismantling of the reactors will be decisive 
for the confirmation of the programme end-date and overall funding needs after 2027. 

Progress at the three sites was affected by the COVID-19 crisis, which meant temporary 
furlough for some staff and limited access by foreign experts and contractors. Measures 
to  ensure  that  activities  could  continue  safely  included  physical  distancing,  use  of 
additional  protective  equipment  and  testing.  These  measures  significantly  reduced  the 
short-term impact on project milestones. The EU continued to support the salaries of the 
workers in these difficult times. 

The decommissioning programme in Kozloduy (Bulgaria) has a completion date of end 
2030. The similar designs of the Kozloduy and Bohunice reactors provided an excellent 
opportunity  to  share  experience,  methods  and  tools,  thus  reducing  risks  and  cost. 
Decontamination  of  the  primary  circuits  in  Kozloduy  is  being  prepared  on  the  basis  of 
experience  from  Bohunice,  from  where  the  decontamination  equipment  has  been 
transported. In parallel, good progress was made on dismantling other circuits. 

In Bohunice (Slovakia), work continued on dismantling the reactor coolant system  and 
auxiliary systems. The decommissioning operator transported the reactor pressure vessel 
to cutting workshops for size reduction and packaging. Sectioning and packaging of the 
first steam generator was also completed. The approved schedule, targeting completion in 
2025, is being reassessed in function of the latest developments. 

In  Ignalina  (Lithuania),  the  reactor  design  includes  a  large  graphite  core,  the 
decommissioning  of  which  is  a  first-of-a-kind  challenge.  The  overall  decommissioning 
programme  is  scheduled  to  last  until  2038.  The  dismantling  process  is  therefore  at  an 
earlier  stage.  By  the  end  of  2020,  98%  of  the  spent  fuel  had  been  removed  from  the 
reactor buildings and transferred to dry safe storage. Transfer operations are expected to 
last  until  October  2022.  Meanwhile,  preparations  are  under  way  for  dismantling  the 
reactor cores. Possible options for mitigating the risks involved are being identified and 
assessed, and the work is scheduled to proceed in 2022. 

The  completion  of  the  decommissioning  programmes  up  to  their  planned  end-state 
requires  additional  funding  under  two  new  Council  Regulations  providing  for  the 
continuation  of  the  programme  in  2021-2027.  Among  other  things,  these  lay  down 
national contribution levels, thus removing remaining uncertainties as to the availability 
of the required funding. 

 
 
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

When they joined the EU, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania undertook to shut down eight 
nuclear reactors before the end of their scheduled lifetime: 

  Bulgaria — Kozloduy nuclear power plant (4 units); 

  Slovakia — Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant (2 units); and 

  Lithuania — Ignalina nuclear power plant (2 units). 

The EU committed itself to providing financial assistance for the safe decommissioning 
of the reactors. 

Two Council Regulations1 governed EU support for the decommissioning programmes in 
the  2014-2020  multiannual  financial  framework  (MFF).  In  line  with  the  reporting 
requirements  in  Article  6 of the Regulations, this report reviews results achieved under 
the EU’s nuclear decommissioning assistance programme (NDAP) in 2020. 

The general objective of the NDAP is to move to the decommissioning end-state while 
maintaining  the  highest  safety  standards.  The  programmes  do  not  include  mitigation 
measures  in  the  energy  sector  that  were  launched  before  2014  and  supported  under 
previous MFFs. Implementation of these measures was evaluated in 2019 and was 89% 
complete at the end of 2020. 

The decommissioning plans contain clear provisions on scope, budget and planning, with 
scheduled end-dates after the financing period for the Regulations. They do not cover the 
disposal of spent fuel  and radioactive waste in  a deep geological repository  — Council 
Directive 2011/70/Euratom2  requires  each  Member  State  to  handle  that  itself,  under  its 
national programme for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. 

For  the  MFF  2021-2027,  the  Council  has  adopted  two  new  Regulations3  that  maintain 
support for decommissioning activities in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania. In particular, 
the  EU  financial  support  will  enable  Bulgaria  and  Slovakia  to  complete  the 
decommissioning  of  the  concerned  reactors,  and  help  Lithuania  to  proceed  safely  and 
steadily with the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, a first-of-a-kind 
process on an unprecedented scale that involves retrieving a large amount of radioactive 
graphite. 

1  Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1368/2013 of 13 December 2013 on Union support for the nuclear 
decommissioning  assistance  programmes  in  Bulgaria  and  Slovakia,  and  repealing  Regulations 
(Euratom) No 549/2007 and (Euratom) No 647/2010 (OJ L 346, 20.12.2013, p. 1; correction in OJ L 8, 
11.1.2014, p. 31); 
Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1369/2013 of 13 December 2013 on Union support for the nuclear 
decommissioning  assistance  programme  in  Lithuania,  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No  1990/2006 
(OJ L 346, 20.12.2013, p. 7; corrections in OJ L 8, 11.1.2014, p. 30 and OJ L 121, 24.4.2014, p. 59). 
2  Council  Directive  2011/70/Euratom  of  19  July  2011  establishing  a  Community  framework  for  the 

responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste (OJ L199, 2.8.2011, p. 48). 

3  Council  Regulation  (Euratom)  2021/100  of  25  January  2021  establishing  a  dedicated  financial 
programme for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the management of radioactive waste, and 
repealing Regulation (Euratom) No 1368/2013; 
Council  Regulation  (EU)  2021/101  of  25  January  2021  establishing  the  nuclear  decommissioning 
assistance programme of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania and repealing Regulation (EU) 
No 1369/2013. 

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2. 

PROGRAMME ADMINISTRATION 

2.1.  Method of implementation 

The Commission has entrusted implementation of the programme budgets to: 

  the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)  — for all the 

programmes (since 2001); 

  the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) — for the Ignalina programme 

(since 2003); and 

  the  Slovak  Innovation  and  Energy  Agency  (SIEA)  —  for  the  Bohunice 

programme (since 2016). 

Supervision  of these ‘entrusted entities’ relies  on prior checks (‘pillar assessment’) that 
they  fulfil  the  requirements  for  indirect  management  and  is  complemented  by 
risk-informed verifications, either as part of the regular monitoring process or assigned to 
an independent body. 

2.2. 

Annual programming and monitoring 

Each of the Member States in  question has  appointed a programme  coordinator who is 
responsible  for  national  programming  and  the  coordination  and  monitoring  of  the 
decommissioning  programme  at  national  level.  The  programme  coordinators  submitted 
work  programmes  for  2020,  with  activities  financed  from  the  EU  budget  and  from 
national  or  other  sources.  The  Commission  (DG ENER)  published  on  its  website  the 
financing decision and the work programmes adopted by the Commission. 

A  monitoring  committee  in  each  Member  State  is  co-chaired  by  a  Commission 
representative  and  the  programme  coordinator.  The  committees’  role  was  strengthened 
in 2019. 

The entrusted entities monitor project implementation on a day-to-day basis. In addition, 
the  Commission  services  follow  it  closely  through  desk  and  biannual  on-the-spot 
reviews. Due to COVID-related site access restrictions, most of these reviews had to be 
carried out remotely in 2020. 

To  support  the  monitoring  process,  the  Commission  uses  performance  indicators, 
including  those  set  out  in  the  earned  value  management  (EVM)  system4.  By  tracking 
progress  against  the  performance  measurement  baseline,  EVM  is  used  to  monitor 
progress against the schedule, and associated costs. 

2.3. 

Controls, audits and evaluations 

Due to COVID-related restrictions, the Commission services were able to carry out only 
one of the six planned monitoring missions on-site. To make up for this, extensive review 
meetings were held by videoconference. 

The entrusted entities regularly assessed the impact of COVID-related restrictions on the 
implementation of the decommissioning projects. However, as the situation continues to 

4   ISO 21508:2018 Earned value management in project and programme management. 

3 

 
                                                 
evolve, no final conclusions can be drawn as yet. At present, the impact on the projects is 
limited; specific situations are described in Section 4 (Progress and performance). 

3. 

BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION AND CO-FINANCING 

Bulgaria  and  Slovakia  have  established  dedicated  funds  providing  financing  for 
decommissioning and radioactive waste management. These are complemented by other 
national resources, mostly from their national budgets.  In Lithuania, funds accumulated 
previously  for  decommissioning  and  waste  management  were  depleted  and  the 
organisation  managing  them  was  wound  up  in  2019.  The  Lithuanian  government 
undertook to provide funding until the end of the programme. This commitment is taken 
into account in Table 1. 

The EU contributions to the funds managed by the EBRD are augmented by 2-4% with 
past contributions from other international donors and financial interest on pre-financing. 
The tables below include these additional amounts. 

Table 1:  Funds (disbursements + allocations + proposals), € million 

Member 
State 

EU 
2001-2020 

EU 
2021-2027 

Total funds 

Budget at 
completion 

Kozloduy 

Bohunice 

Ignalina 

458 

476 

478 

800 

671 

1 568 

63 

55 

552 

1 321 

1 202 

2 598 

1 358 

1 237 

3 377 

Source: Monitoring reports, annual work programmes, EBRD, CPMA, SIEA. 

in  Table 1 

includes  contingencies  and  risks.  If 
The  ‘budget  at  completion’ 
implementation  of  the  activities  goes  according  to  plan,  the  contingencies  will  not  be 
needed.  In that case, the available funds  for Kozloduy and  Bohunice will be sufficient. 
For  the  Ignalina  programme  EU  funding  is  defined  until  2027:  as  the  programme  is 
scheduled to last until 2038, there is still a difference between the budget at completion 
and total funds. In the last version of the Ignalina decommissioning plan, the scope was 
extended to include security expenses of the Interior Ministry (€200 million); the ‘budget 
at completion’ does not include this amount which remains fully financed by Lithuania. 

The  legal  basis  for  EU  financial  support  until  2020  does  not  specify  explicitly  the 
co-financing  rate.  However,  the  Council  Regulations  for  continued  support  for 
decommissioning under the 2021-2027 MFF lay down the multiannual EU contribution 
and introduce maximum rates of 86% for Lithuania, and 50% for Bulgaria and Slovakia 
to  be  applied  as  of  2021.  Table 2  summarises  payments  to  the  end-beneficiaries  to  the 
end of 2020. 

Table 2:  Payments to end beneficiaries — end of 2020 (€ million) 

Kozloduy 

Bohunice 

Ignalina 

National 
resources 

312 (40%) 

243 (32%) 

205 (18%) 

EU 

Total 

460 (60%) 

507 (68%) 

1 120 (82%) 

772 

750 

1 325 

Source: Annual work programmes 2021-2022, Monitoring reports, EBRD, CPMA. 

4 

 
 
 
4. 

PROGRESS AND PERFORMANCE 

The Commission measures progress and performance against the objectives set out in the 
Council Regulations establishing the programmes. Detailed targets and schedules in the 
implementation procedures and the EVM system complement the monitoring. 

To date, progress against the objectives has been generally satisfactory and the cost of the 
work has been as planned. The programmes’ critical path5 is monitored with the utmost 
attention and, where risks are identified, mitigating actions are proposed. As a result, the 
end-dates  are  still  valid  at  this  point  in  time.  However,  in  2020  risks  threatening 
compliance with the end-dates were identified for all three programmes (see below). 

4.1. 

Bulgaria — Kozloduy programme 

Units  1-4  at  the  Kozloduy  plant  are  VVER6  440/230  reactors.  Units 1  and 2  were  shut 
down in 2002 and Units 3 and 4 in 2006. 

Under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Energy, the State Enterprise for 
Radioactive Waste (SERAW) is the licensed operator in charge of the decommissioning 
of Units 1-4 and the construction and operation of the national disposal facility for low- 
and 
the  safe 
is 
management of radioactive waste on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. 

intermediate-level  radioactive  waste.  SERAW’s  main  mission 

The  Kozloduy  programme  made  significant  progress  on  dismantling  in  the  controlled 
areas in Unit 1, excluding the primary circuit. Radioactive waste management activities 
(i.e. the  retrieval,  treatment  and  conditioning  of  decommissioning/historical  radioactive 
waste)  are  progressing  in  accordance  with  the  plan.  The  impact  of  COVID-19  was 
limited and mainly involved access restrictions for external contractors. 

The plasma melting facility is a first-of-its-kind high-temperature incineration facility for 
volume reduction of radioactive waste. The resulting waste form is particularly stable and 
safe. The project was launched in 2009 and reached the operational stage in 2019, for a 
total  investment  cost  of €8.2 million  (Figure 1).  In  2019-2020,  SERAW  carried  out  the 
first  three  operational  campaigns  at  the  facility,  demonstrating  that  it  could  reduce  the 
volume  of  waste  by  a  factor  of  50.  The  next  campaigns  will  show  whether  or  not  the 
reduced expenditure for disposal of the residual waste volume will deliver the expected 
economic benefit. 

5   In project planning, the critical path is the longest sequence of tasks that must be done to successfully 

complete the project. Tasks that are in the critical path, if delayed, will delay the whole project. 

6  Вводо-водяной  энергетический  реактор  /  vodo-vodyanoi  energetichesky  reaktor  (VVER  — 

water-water power reactor) is a series of pressurised water reactors. 

5 

 
 
                                                 
Figure 1:  Plasma melting facility maintenance 

photos SERAW 

The  similar  designs  of  the  Bohunice  and  Kozloduy  reactors  provide  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  share  experience,  methods  and  equipment,  thus  reducing  risks  and  cost. 
For  example,  the  feasibility  of  decontaminating  the  primary  circuits  at  Kozloduy  was 
confirmed  on  the  basis  of  experience  from  Bohunice.  The  transportation  of  used 
decontamination equipment from Bohunice was agreed and preparatory work for the full 
chemical  decontamination  of  the  primary  circuits  advanced  in  2020.  Decontamination 
activities  will  start  in  2021.  SERAW  estimates  that  a  cost  saving  of  about  €8 million 
could  be  achieved  by  reusing  the  equipment  developed  for  the  Bohunice  programme 
based on the knowledge and experience gained. 

Construction  of  the  near-surface  repository  for  low-  and  intermediate-level  waste 
(National  Disposal  Facility)  started  in  2017  (Figure  2).  The  construction  works  do  not 
imply  any  radiation  or  nuclear  safety  risk,  however  activities  were  suspended  from 
December 2019  to  June 2020  following  a  fatal  accident  on  the  building  site.  Work 
restarted after the causes of the accident had been fully analysed and appropriate project 
management  organisation  was  established  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  highest  safety 
standards for the duration of the project. Improvements are now visible as regards health 
& safety and supervision. As part of the ex post evaluation of the NDAP implementation 
in 2014-2020, the Commission services launched an assessment of the safety culture at 
all  three  sites,  which  will  show  whether  or  not  further  improvements  are  required  to 
ensure the highest level of safety. 

Figure 2:  General view of National Disposal Facility construction 

photo SERAW 

In  accordance  with  the  performance  baseline,  the  programme  completion  date  remains 
the end of 2030. Figure 3 shows the amount of work carried out (earned value) against 
the plan (baseline). The baseline includes contingencies and this explains part of the gap 
with the actual progress. The lower-than-planned rate of implementation and the complex 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
interdependency  of  the  activities  on  the  critical  path  lead  to  conclude  that  the  risk  of 
delay is increasing significantly and may affect the end-date. 

Figure 3:  Kozloduy — progress and performance 

4.2. 

Slovakia — Bohunice programme 

The Bohunice V1 plant consists of two VVER 440/230 reactors. Unit 1 was shut down in 
2006 and Unit 2 in 2008. 

Under  the  administrative  supervision  of  the  Ministry  of  Economy,  Jadrová  a 
vyraďovacia  spoločnosť  (JAVYS)  is  the  operator  in  charge  of  decommissioning 
Bohunice V1.  Its  mission  is  the  safe  decommissioning  of  the  nuclear  facilities,  spent 
nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management on Slovak territory. 

the  EU.  Worldwide, 

The  Bohunice  programme  is  the  most  advanced  of  the  three  decommissioning 
programmes  assisted  by 
the  first  completed 
decommissioning  programme  for  a  VVER-type  reactor.  The  programme  made 
substantial progress in 2020. Dismantling of the large components of the reactor coolant 
system  started,  including  the  transportation  of  the  reactor  pressure  vessel  and  other 
activated components to pools reconfigured as underwater cutting workshops. Remotely 
operated cutting  of the first  reactor vessel  then started (Figure 4). Cutting is  planned to 
take  17  months  for  each  of  the  two  reactor  vessels.  Fragmentation  of  both  vessels  will 
take 24 months, thanks to parallel works. 

it  will  be 

7 

 
 
Figure 4:  Cutting of first reactor pressure vessel in wet workshop 

photos JAVYS 

The 12 steam generators, each made of 145 tonnes of steel, are another major part of the 
reactor coolant system. They were transferred to the former turbine hall in 2019 and the 
cutting  of  the  first  steam  generator  was  completed  in  June  2020  in  a  purpose-built 
dry-cutting  workshop  (Figure  5).  With  the  lessons  learnt  from  this  process  and  various 
improvements, it is now expected that the other steam generators can each be dismantled 
in less than 2.5 months.   

Figure 5:  Cutting of first steam generator in dry workshop 

photos JAVYS 

The  COVID-19  crisis  has  mainly  affected  the  deployment  of  contractors  on  site,  for 
example delaying the completion of the metallic waste melting facility. 

In 2020 decommissioning activities at  Bohunice V1 produced a total  of 2388 tonnes of 
conventional recyclable material. In addition, dismantling activities in the controlled area 
produced  2189 tonnes  of  material:  of  these,  732  tonnes  were  decontaminated  and 
recycled as non-radioactive material. 

Figure 6 shows the amount of work carried out (earned value) against the plan (baseline). 
In accordance with  the current  performance baseline, the  approved completion date  for 
the  programme  is  set  at  the  end  of  2025  and  the  budget  at  completion  (including 
contingencies) remains €1 237 million. The successive optimisations of the schedule have 

8 

 
 
       
 
 
 
consumed all the time  margins,  therefore the recent  slowdown of the physical  progress 
will  impact  the  end-date  of  the  programme.  JAVYS  has  initiated  a  complete  review  of 
the remaining tasks in preparation of the next work programme. 

Figure 6:  Bohunice — progress and performance 

4.3. 

Lithuania — Ignalina programme 

The Ignalina plant consists of two RBMK7 1500 reactors. Unit 1 was shut down in 2004 
and Unit 2 in 2009. 

Under  the  administrative  supervision  of  the  Ministry  of  Energy,  the  state  enterprise 
Ignalina  Nuclear  Power  Plant  (INPP)  is  the  operator  in  charge  of  the  facilities  under 
decommissioning and, since 2019, the waste disposal facilities. 

The removal of spent-fuel assemblies from the reactor buildings (Units 1 and 2) resumed 
in  September  2016  and  both  reactors  have  been  completely  defueled.  All  191  new 
storage casks were delivered in February 2020, a year ahead of schedule. All undamaged 
fuel  assemblies  from  Unit  1  and  part  of  Unit  2,  which  were  stored  in  spent-fuel  pools, 
were  transferred  to  storage  casks  and  then  to  the  interim  spent-fuel  storage  facility 
(Figure 7). By the end of 2020, 98% of spent-fuel  assemblies (against a target  of 90%) 
were  safely  stored  in  this  new  dedicated  facility.  The  remaining  assemblies  were 
damaged when the reactor was operational and need to be handled more carefully. This 
work is scheduled to be completed by October 2022. Meanwhile, work has started under 
a  contract  concluded  by  INPP  for  cleaning  up,  emptying  and  decontaminating  the 
spent-fuel pools. 

7   Реактор  Большой  Мощности  Канальный  /  reaktor  bolshoy  moshchnosti  kanalnyy  (RBMK  — 
high-power channel-type reactor) is a class of graphite-moderated nuclear power reactor (also installed 
in Chernobyl). 

9 

 
 
                                                 
Figure 7:  Interim storage facility with new casks for spent-fuel assemblies  

photos INPP 

With  43  730 tonnes  of  material  dismantled  from  the  turbine  hall  and  other  auxiliary 
buildings (out of an estimated total of 47 277 tonnes), the removal and decontamination 
of  equipment  is  close  to  completion  (>90%).  The  building  is  being  used  as  temporary 
storage for material undergoing clearance before regulatory control can be lifted and for 
low-level radioactive waste before it can be transferred to a final disposal facility. 

The programme maintained its support to  Lithuania during the 3 weeks of furlough for 
the on-site workers caused by the COVID-19 crisis in line with the Commission policy to 
support peripheral regions and the European economy during the pandemic. It was very 
important to ensure that skilled staff working at the decommissioning programme would 
not  be  laid  off,  as  this  could  generate  additional  costs  and  future  delays.  Correlated 
access  restrictions  for  the  nuclear  safeguards  inspectors  caused  some  delay  in  the 
defueling activities. 

The dismantling of the Ignalina reactors is a first-of-a-kind challenge: never before has a 
large  reactor  graphite  core  been  dismantled.  In  a  first  phase  (2020-2027),  INPP  will 
remove  all  components  from  top  and  bottom  of  the  reactor  shafts.  The  design  of  the 
subsequent removal of the content of the shafts – the graphite, metal structures and filling 
material – is being preceded by an optioneering8 study. This has been delayed by about a 
year due to complex procurement preparation between Lithuanian stakeholders. In 2020, 
the  Commission  has  established  a  closer  supervision  and  control  of  this  project,  in 
particular  by  establishing  an  ad-hoc  independent  expert  panel.  This  panel  provided 
specific  recommendations  for  the  tendering  and  contracting  strategy.  The  optioneering 
study will be followed by the detailed design of the preferred solution and of the facility 
for the temporary storage of the irradiated waste. The delay in starting the design and the 
first-of-a-kind  nature  of  the  project  will  require  a  reassessment  of  the  programme 
end-date at a later stage. 

The  procurement  procedure  for  the  construction  of  the  near-surface  repository  for 
low- and intermediate-level short-lived waste was delayed due to an unsuccessful tender 
process;  it  has  now  been  re-launched  following  minor  technical  revisions  and  a  budget 
increase.  Construction  of  the  landfill  facility  for  very  low-level  short-lived  waste  was 
completed;  formal  acceptance  of  the  facility  is  planned  in  early  2021  with  the  first 
loading campaign to follow soon after. Upon the successful completion of these facilities, 
INPP  will  have  all  the  tools  it  needs  for  disposal  of  the  short-lived  radioactive  waste 
under the decommissioning plan. A blueprint is under development for the conversion of 

8   Optioneering is an iterative process between options identification, assessment and definition. 

10 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
the  bituminised-waste  storage  vaults  into  a  repository,  under  the  surveillance  of  the 
relevant regulatory bodies.  

Figure 8:  New low-level waste landfill facility and bituminised waste vault 

photos INPP 

In  accordance  with  the  updated  performance  baseline,  the  programme  completion  date 
remains 2038. Figure 9 shows the amount of work carried out (earned value) against the 
plan  (baseline).  The  Lithuanian  government  approved  the  version  8  of  the  final 
decommissioning  plan  in  August  2020.  The  total  budget  at  completion  (including 
contingencies)  was  increased  by  €200 million  to  include  fire  and  physical  protection 
costs that are fully funded from national resources. 

Figure 9:  Ignalina — progress and performance 

4.4. 

Energy sector projects 

Until 2013, the assistance programmes allocated funds to projects along the energy value 
chain  to  mitigate  the  impact  of  the  closure  of  the  eight  nuclear  power  plants.  By 
December 2020, 51 projects were completed for a value of €841.9 million9. Seven other 
projects  are  under  completion  for  a  value  of  €105.8 million  (83%  in  Bulgaria,  16%  in 
Slovakia and <1% in Lithuania). 

9   Support  to  the  ex post  evaluation  of  the  Nuclear  Decommissioning  Assistance  Programme  –  Energy 

window 2007-2013 (2019) [https://op.europa.eu/s/oFQ8] 

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5. 

KNOWLEDGE-SHARING 

In  2020,  the  annual  trilateral  knowledge-sharing  seminar  did  not  take  place  due  to  the 
COVID-19 crisis, but (as explained above) taking advantage of synergies is resulting in 
time  and  cost  savings.  The  major  areas  in  which  knowledge  was  shared  between  the 
Bohunice  and  Kozloduy  sites  were:  the  decontamination  of  primary  circuits;  and  the 
incineration  of  radioactive  waste,  via  conventional  combustion  or  the  state-of-the-art 
plasma melting facility (see Section 4.1). Contacts were established between Ignalina and 
the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Ukraine) to  share knowledge on the dismantling of 
reactor cores. 

As of 2021, knowledge sharing has become an explicit objective under the new Council 
Regulations, with a requirement that experience and lessons learnt from the programmes 
be shared across the EU and, possibly, cooperating with external countries supported by 
the  Commission’s  support  programmes.  In  this  framework,  the  Commission’s  Joint 
Research Centre (JRC) will play a key role for dissemination. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

to  make  effective  progress 

Bulgaria,  Lithuania  and  Slovakia  continued 
in 
decommissioning  their  nuclear  power  plants  in  2020.  However,  as  shown  by  the  EVM 
analysis,  in  all  three  programmes,  the  risk  of  delaying  the  end-date  increased  and  a 
reassessment  of  the  schedule  will  be  required.  Possible  delays  will  not  impact  the  EU 
financial support to the Kozloduy, Bohunice and Ignalina programmes during the 2021-
2027 MFF. In Ignalina, the selection of the technical solution for the dismantling of the 
reactors  will  be  decisive  for  the  confirmation  of  the  programme  end-date  and  overall 
funding needs after 2027.  

The  decommissioning  operators  took  the  necessary  measures  to  limit  the  impact  of  the 
COVID-19 crisis on the physical progress of the works. However, the travel restrictions 
imposed an additional constraint on the very tight schedules for the preparation of future 
projects. 

Knowledge-sharing  among  the  beneficiaries  had  a  positive  impact  on  the  programmes 
and contributed to the latest successes. The Commission built on that to develop concrete 
synergies, e.g. the decontamination of the primary circuits at Kozloduy was supported by 
know-how  developed  by  JAVYS  and  use  of  equipment  acquired  under  the  Bohunice 
programme. 

Indications are that a significant decrease of radiological hazards has been achieved at the 
sites as a result of EU funding under the 2014-2020 MFF and no additional funding was 
needed  to  achieve  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  Council  Regulations  for  2014-2020. 
Completion  of  the  decommissioning  programmes  to  their  planned  end-state  will  be 
supported  by  additional  funding  in  2021-2027,  for  which  the  Council  has  adopted  new 
Regulations3.  These  Regulations  also  establish  national  contribution  levels,  thus 
removing remaining uncertainties as to the availability of the required funding. 

The outlook for 2021 promises further major developments. 

Bulgaria 

 

the construction of the National Disposal Facility will proceed steadily; 

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 

the  plasma  melting  facility  will  be  in  full  industrial  operation  and  create 
relevant know-how; and 

  work  will  start  on  decontaminating  and  dismantling  major  components  in  the 

reactor building; 

Slovakia 

  steady  progress  is  expected  on  the  dismantling  of  large  components  from  the 
reactor building, including the reactor vessels and the steam generators, leading 
to the last stage of decommissioning; 

Lithuania 

 

 

the  transfer  of  damaged  spent-fuel  assemblies  to  the  storage  facility  will 
continue; 

the  very  low-level  waste  disposal  facility  will  be  completed  and  used  for  the 
first time; 

  construction of the low-level waste disposal facility will start; and 

  kick-off the optioneering study for the dismantling of the graphite cores. 

For the three programmes, a study on EVM systems will be completed with some delay 
due  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  which  has  prevented  visits  to  the  sites  to  exchange 
hands-on experience. 

The Commission will carry out an ex post evaluation of the programme for 2014-2020.  

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