Mr. President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
Allow me first to thank the Secretariat of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director-General, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, for their hard work in the past year. We thank Dr. ElBaradei for his report on the activities of the IAEA in 2009.
Allow me also to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. ElBaradei on his successful tenure as Director-General of the Agency. The last twelve years have at times been exceptionally dramatic for the Agency and it has been well served by having at its helm a person with strong integrity and diplomatic skill. The Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 was a just recognition of the achievements both of the Director General and of the Agency.
We also warmly welcome Ambassador Yukiya Amano, who will take office in December. The challenges facing the world today in the fields of non-proliferation, nuclear safety and security are demanding. The EU is convinced that Ambassador Amano has the experience required to take on the tasks ahead and can assure him of its strong support.
The European Union Member States are co-sponsoring the draft resolution on the Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency. We praise the efforts by the Chairman of the IAEA Board of Governors and sincerely hopes that the resolution will be adopted by consensus.
While the EU fully supports the draft resolution, this does not imply support for the IAEA resolution GC(53)/RES/17 mentioned in operative paragraph 2. In this regard, the EU reiterates that when this resolution was adopted by the IAEA General Conference, a considerable number of states voted against it, amongst them all EU Member States.
Fifty years ago the IAEA was set up to promote Atoms for Peace with the mandate to increase the contribution of nuclear energy to peace, health and prosperity, to ensure that nuclear activities are not diverted to military purposes, to spread throughout the world a safety culture and rigorous safety standards and more recently to avert the risk of nuclear terrorism. Today the Agency is faced with a number of compelling challenges in particular nuclear proliferation and compliance issues.
The international safeguards system of the IAEA is an essential part of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime as its prime objective is to detect and deter the diversion of nuclear materials for use in nuclear weapons. The European Union considers that Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements together with Additional Protocols constitute the current IAEA verification standard.
The European Union is working towards making the Additional Protocol a condition for the supply of nuclear exports. All European Union Member States have had Additional Protocols in force since May 2004. We reiterate that the Agency’s comprehensive Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols constitute the current verification standard. The EU regrets that there are still a considerable number of states that have yet to bring into force Additional Protocols. We urge States that have not yet done so, to sign and bring into force their respective Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols to them.
The IAEA's work has set the framework for cooperative efforts to build and strengthen an international safety and security regime and has the full support of the EU in this regard.
The IAEA plays an important role in strengthening the global nuclear safety framework. The EU fully supports the Agency’s efforts in this field. Under the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, the EU has dedicated about 570 million Euros for the period 2007 – 2013 to assist countries to strengthen nuclear safety and radiation protection. Under these instruments, the EU is cooperating with the IAEA to implement specific projects with IAEA Member States.
The EU recognizes that nuclear security is an essential programme of the Agency and commends the IAEA for its activities aimed at preventing and combating nuclear terrorism. Through a financial contribution of more than 20 million Euros since 2004, the EU is the major donor to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund. We call on all States to commit themselves to financing of the Fund.
The safety and security of radioactive sources are of utmost importance. In this regard, the role of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources adopted by the General Conference of the Agency in 2003 is of particular importance. The European Union has made a commitment to respect the Code and urges all States to do the same.
The task of the IAEA to provide international cooperation for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, to promote nuclear safety and security and, not least, nuclear verification remains more important than ever in today’s world.
The EU reiterates its full support for the IAEA and is pleased to co-sponsor the draft Resolution on the Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency before you.
Thank you, Mr. President.