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Nuclear Safety Account extended at the EBRD
The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved the extension of the Nuclear Safety Account (NSA) for another three-year period.
As administrator of the NSA, the EBRD uses funding provided by 14 nations and the European Union to improve short-term nuclear safety, to promote energy sector reforms and to encourage the early shutdown of the most dangerous nuclear power plants in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The NSA has received funding from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the EU. Contributions to date total EUR 260 million.
"The region’s serious nuclear safety problems pose a danger beyond individual borders. Addressing this risk and the very substantial costs involved requires global cooperation, including support for closure of plants that cannot be brought up to acceptable safety standards," said Joachim Jahnke, Vice President for Project Evaluation, Operations Support and Nuclear Safety. He added: "The NSA’s limited financial scope means it must complement the work of the international community in its efforts to increase nuclear safety".
Since its inception in 1993, the NSA has signed agreements with the governments of Bulgaria, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine. Short-term safety upgrades in Bulgaria have already been completed and upgrades in Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine will be completed during 1999.
Decommissioning facilities at Chernobyl in Ukraine will be a strong focus in the next three years. These are expected to be fully completed in 2002 and will support the closure of Chernobyl by 2000. The NSA will continue to monitor the conditionalities of the agreements, such as addressing the closure of high-risk nuclear power plants, and will provide further institutional support for nuclear safety and the nuclear safety regulators. Further progress in energy sector reforms and a reduction in high-energy intensity are among the most urgent priorities.
The NSA operates under the Rules of the Nuclear Safety Account, which were agreed by the contributors and adopted by the Board of Directors of the EBRD on 22 March 1993. The NSA became effective on 14 April 1993 for a period of three years. The term of the NSA was previously extended in April 1996.
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