IAEA Director General Highlights Global Impact of Cooperation with European Union, Calls for Closer Partnership

The IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Kazakhstan, completed in 2019, is one example of an international effort to which the EU has been a major contributor, with a donation of almost €25 million. The LEU Bank serves as a mechanism of last resort for Member States in case the supply of LEU to fuel a nuclear power plant is disrupted.

“The biggest positive long-term impact nuclear can make is in providing the safe, stable and sustainable supply of low carbon energy,” Mr Grossi stated. “It is every country’s sovereign right and responsibility to choose its own energy mix, and half of the EU’s Members States have chosen to include nuclear.” Ahead of 2019’s COP25 climate change conference, the European Parliament adopted a resolution stating its belief “that nuclear energy can play a role in meeting climate objectives because it does not emit greenhouse gases, and can also ensure a significant share of electricity production in Europe.”

In response to a question on nuclear energy, Mr Grossi said, “We have a common cause, which is the decarbonization of our economies. […] We believe nuclear energy is one of the actors that can play a compatible role with renewables and other sources of energy [...] that we all need for the wellbeing of our societies and to do it in a way that does no harm to the environment.”

Mr Grossi underlined the IAEA’s role in maintaining world peace. Referring to the Agency’s work in safeguards and the recent agreement with Iran to continue the IAEA’s verification and monitoring activities, Mr Grossi stated that, “across more than six decades, the IAEA has done an exceptional job in helping to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.”

He also spoke of the cooperation of the EU and the IAEA in combatting nuclear terrorism. In December 2020, the EU pledged €11.5 million to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund (NSF), bringing its overall NSF contribution to €55 million, making it the third largest contributor to the fund after the United States and the United Kingdom. The IAEA’s global nuclear security programme, which provides assistance to countries, upon request, to strengthen their nuclear security regimes and prevent the use of nuclear and radioactive material by criminals, is supported by voluntary contributions.

“We are grateful to Ambassador Grossi who covered a variety of questions and provided clear, precise and transparent answers,” said Nathalie Loiseau, Chairwoman of the Sub-committee on Security and Defence. “Indeed, nuclear is a major topic and, as regards our Sub-committee on Security and Defence, non proliferation is central. We unanimously support the work of IAEA in this regard.”