Nuclear safety assistance to Central and Eastern Europe
The Steering Committee of the G-24 Nuclear Safety Group, met in Brussels on 7-8 December. The G-24 Nuclear Safety Assistance Coordination Centre reported on 8 December that the total financial aid to Central and Eastern Europe had reached some ECU 300 million of which Community aid constitutes two-thirds. The largest part of this money is being spent on operational safety of nuclear power plants and short-term safety improvements. Welcoming these figures, which were taken from the newly created databank to which all participating countries and international organisations contribute, the Committee called for more extensive analyses to be prepared for its next meeting in order to review assistance programmes, eliminate duplication and overlap and identify significant gaps in present and planned activities. The Steering Committee noted progress with technical work concerning the Kozloduy NPP and the RBMK type nuclear reactors similar to those in Chernobyl, of which there are 15 altogether in operation in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania. Work initiated by the Committee concerned questions of the civil liability, in case of accidents, of companies involved in engineering and other works in the nuclear sector, as this was seen by the Committee as a potential blockage to assistance efforts. The Plenary Working Group and the Steering Committee will next meet in March 1993 to review progress, determine a future work plan and adopt a report to be transmitted to the Tokyo Summit in July 1993.