Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.

The EU would like to thank the Director General and the Secretariat for this review. We recognize the significant contribution of radiation and nuclear technology applications to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. We also reaffirm that the Agency’s work on nuclear science, technology and applications underpins the inalienable right of all States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in accordance with Article IV of the NPT.

The EU remains committed to ensuring the responsible, safe and secure development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We acknowledge the need to ensure energy security and respect the right of Member States to decide on their energy mix and choose the most appropriate technologies to collectively achieve our climate target. We recognize that nuclear technologies can be of great help to mitigate the consequences of global warming and monitor its impact. We strongly support the Agency’s commitment to contribute to tackling climate change, and support its participation in the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP).

Chair,

The EU appreciates the IAEA’s support to make the most of nuclear science and technologies for achieving sustainable development and addressing current and future development challenges. We welcome the Director General’s initiatives on ZODIAC, Rays of Hope, NUTEC Plastics and Atoms4Food. The EU has joined the new Group of Friends of Food Security in Vienna and is grateful to Italy, Sudan and the African Group for this initiative.

There is ongoing construction of research reactors in some EU Member States. We therefore welcome the IAEA’s work related to the applications of accelerators and research reactors in the medical field and cultural heritage characterisation, amongst others. They are examples of societal relevance and illustrate the impact of nuclear technologies.

We furthermore support the numerous advances made in the field of nuclear medicine and human health, including diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We also welcome the developments on innovative radiation technologies and isotopic tracing techniques for improving food security and nutrition, water management and marine environment protection. The international radiation conferences, notably ICARST and ICARO, to be organised in Vienna in 2025, will offer an opportunity to draw further attention to these issues.

Chair,

The EU takes note of the global trends in nuclear power highlighted in the Agency’s Review. When using nuclear technology, it is essential that countries firmly comply with international legal instruments, especially safeguards agreements, and act in accordance with the IAEA safety standards and security guidance. We strongly encourage all Member States to take advantage of the IAEA peer reviews and advisory services, to publish the findings and to timely implement the recommended actions. In this regard, we note with appreciation the INIR Phase 2 mission held in Poland in April 2024.

The European Commission has established a “European Industrial Alliance”, aiming to accelerate the development, demonstration and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in full respect of the highest level of nuclear safety and environmental sustainability, in accordance with the IAEA standards. In October 2024, the European Industrial Alliance selected nine SMRs projects. As some EU Member States continue to monitor developments in SMRs or have included them in their technology considerations, we attach importance to the IAEA’s work on SMRs and their applications.

Chair,

As underlined in the Agency’s Review, the ageing global nuclear fleet highlights the need for timely and adequate implementation of measures related to ageing management and long-term operation as well as reasonably practicable safety improvements. We appreciate the Agency’s support to Member States on long-term operation, ageing and obsolescence management.

Important decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and projects aiming at the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste and long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel, are underway in EU Member States. The efforts of the Agency to deepen the understanding of all aspects of those programmes are extremely valuable.

Looking at the future, we will continue our involvement in fusion research. The Euratom Research and Training Programme will continue to support EUROfusion, the European consortium of national fusion research institutes. EUROfusion's role shall be redefined to align with the emerging EU Fusion Strategy. EUROfusion should support ITER, Fusion Pilot Plants, explore alternative fusion concepts and strengthen industry collaboration. Additionally, EUROfusion shall prioritize workforce development to ensure the EU has the expertise needed for fusion energy advancements.

Finally, we take positive note of the launch of the World Fusion Energy Group at the ministerial meeting held on 6 November 2024 in Rome and organised by the Agency and Italy, and ask the Secretariat to keep Member States informed on the WFEG discussions and activities.

With these comments, we support the recommended Board action set forth in GOV/2025/4.

Thank you, Chair.