European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes.}

Budget for 2021-2027

Rationale and design of the programme

The programme's objective is to support the promotion of nuclear safety culture and radiation protection, the safe management of spent nuclear fuels and radioactive wastes and the application of effective and efficient safeguards of nuclear materials in non-EU countries.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

^{(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.}

Financial programming:
+ EUR 0.0 million (+ 0%)
compared to the legal basis*

^{* Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR)⁽¹⁾:

^{(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.}

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

• The amount committed under climate mainstreaming relates to the environmental remediation programme in central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), aiming at cleaning up and restoring former uranium legacy sites.

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

<sup>(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.</sup>

• The INSC continues to promote gender equality through its training, tutoring and education programme, where the participation of partner countries is conditional upon the gender-balanced registration of students.
• In 2022, 22 students followed the master’s course in European leadership for safety education financed by the INSC, 11 of whom were women, and 26 followed the master’s course in nuclear safeguards, 12 of whom were women.

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

• N/A.

Budget performance – outcomes

• The INSC builds on the recognised and successful assistance and cooperation that has been in place since 1991, in particular with regulatory authorities. The programme has obviously been impacted by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. These crises delayed the implementation of projects, and the unit in charge of nuclear safety in DG International Partnerships is working on a recovery plan, including extending project deadlines. Other issues that negatively impact the management of the INSC are a decrease in human resources, an increase in the budget allocated under the new multiannual financial framework and the limited absorption capacity of the finances and contracts unit. Nevertheless, the team in charge continues to deliver quality results to its partners and beneficiaries.
• Improvements in the governmental, legal and regulatory frameworks that ensure the safe use of nuclear energy is based on the transfer of regulatory practices used in the Member States.
• Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine since February 2022 has challenged the flexibility and reactiveness of the INSC. The sector adapted the corresponding annual action programme promptly in order to rapidly provide tailored assistance to Ukraine, in particular within the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The 2022 annual action programme provided additional support to the regulatory authority of Ukraine and the joint support office in Kyiv; financed the restoration of analytical and monitoring capacities that were destroyed by the Russian army in the exclusion zone; and provided the EU’s first contribution to the international Chernobyl cooperation account, managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the reconstruction of nuclear-safety-related infrastructure in Ukraine. This first contribution made the EU the biggest donor to the account.
• The main achievements of the INSC are as follows.
  1. The continuous delivery of the EU’s commitment under Annex 3 to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. With regard to the continuation of civil nuclear cooperation with Iran, the unit in charge of the INSC works under the direct instruction of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
  2. The environmental remediation programme in central Asia addressing the issue of the legacy of former uranium mining and milling sites. Two sites in Kyrgyzstan have been fully remediated, and work will start at three others (one in Kyrgyzstan and two in Uzbekistan) in 2023.
  3. The provision of support to Ukraine to address the consequences of the unprovoked Russian invasion is a priority, in particular in relation to restoring stolen or looted nuclear-safety-related infrastructure.
  4. The environmental remediation programme for uranium legacy sites in central Asia is being implemented at seven priority sites in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
  5. Waste management issues have been addressed in Moldova.

MFF 2014-2020 – Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation

The predecessor of the INSC in the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework was the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation.

Budget implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Performance assessment

• While the report titled Evaluation of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation 2014-2020⁽¹⁾ noted the high relevance and unique benefit of INSC, it also emphasised the need for improvements in cooperating with international organisations such as the Atomic Energy Agency.
• Since 1991, cooperation with the regulatory authorities has primarily aimed at improving the governmental, legal and regulatory frameworks, based on experiences in the EU. This involved the transfer of regulatory practices used in the Member States.
• The competence of staff working in the nuclear area is of the utmost importance to ensure that the use of nuclear technology is safe. The instrument supported training and tutoring actions, which transfer EU knowledge to students and young professionals. Some 2 500 staff were trained in the beneficiary countries between 2014 and 2020. Around 34% of these were women, which contributes to the gender equality goal in a highly specialised scientific area. This confirms the success of the programme.
• A major milestone was that of making the Chernobyl site environmentally stable and safe. This goal was met on 29 November 2016 by sliding the New Safe Confinement over the nuclear reactor destroyed in April 1986. The New Safe Confinement is a giant arch-shaped structure that covers the damaged Chernobyl Unit 4 in order to prevent any further radioactive release.
• The total project cost is in the order of EUR 1.5 billion, to which the EU contributed more than EUR 430 million (across several multiannual financial frameworks).
• In July 2019, the facility was officially handed over to the Ukrainian government. In 2020, the final facility used for safely storing the spent nuclear fuel was completed and transferred to Ukraine, terminating the long-lasting international engagement for Chernobyl.
• The main achievements during the 2014-2020 period were that:
  1. the feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments for uranium legacy sites in central Asia were completed and provided the necessary information to implement the remediation programme at seven priority sites;
  2. after the nuclear deal with Iran, the instrument delivered the EU's commitments under the joint comprehensive plan of action in a timely manner;
  3. waste management issues were addressed in Georgia.

^{(1) Nuclear safety (europa.eu).}

Contribution to the sustainable development goals