Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina[1]  and Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as San Marino, align themselves with this statement.

We take note of today’s decision to designate for IAEA Board membership in 2024-25, the countries most advanced in nuclear technology, in accordance with Article VI.A.1 of the IAEA Statute.

While we speak, one of the designated Board members continues to carry out a full-scale invasion of its neighbouring country. Russia’s indiscriminate attacks at Ukraine’s civil infrastructure bring unbearable sufferings to the people of Ukraine. These attacks also pose unprecedented and unacceptable threats to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, inter alia by potentially endangering the physical security of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and institutes and by disrupting the essential energy supply.    

The EU continues to condemn Russia’s war of aggression and its illegal seizure of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the strongest possible terms.  They are a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and the IAEA Statute and run counter to the Agency’s objective of accelerating and enlarging the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity in the world. The EU calls on the international community to hold Russia accountable for its actions.

Once again, the EU urges the Russian Federation to stop its illegal war, unconditionally and immediately withdraw all its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

We recall that the Statute of the Agency does not entail only rights and privileges, but also obligations and responsibilities. All IAEA Member States, and notably the designated Board members, must respect the UN Charter and the IAEA Statute, as well as the resolutions adopted by this Board. It is high time for the Russian Federation to heed the calls by this Board and comply with its obligations under international law.

Thank you, Chair.

[1] North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.