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Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Thursday after a video conference of the leaders of the Eastern Association in Brussels.
“The question of the Astrava nuclear power plant has been raised. Firstly, the issue of nuclear safety is of great importance to us and, since Belarus is a direct neighbor of the EU (BNS), it must ensure the highest possible safety standards, “said von der Leyen.
AFP / Scanpix photo / Ursula von der Leyen
The EC President noted that progress was being made in the discussions, but that the desired result had not yet been achieved.
“We are in contact with the Belarusian authorities. As you know, there has been a call for expert recommendations to be implemented. Therefore, Belarus today declared its readiness to conduct a review of the stress tests (peer review on the stress test) and a high-level conference on the subject in the fall. So this is a step forward, it is certainly not the end of the debate and we are not where we want to be, but that is exactly what is new today, ”said von der Leyen.
The head of the Belarusian government, Roman Golovchenko, announced that Minsk agrees to review the national action plan based on the results of the stress tests of the nuclear power plant, reports the Russian news agency Interfax.
“We are ready to work constructively with the EU in this area. Belarus has nothing to hide. In this context, we are committed to complying with all documents related to nuclear safety. We have informed our European partners that we generally agree. with the revision of the National Action Plan based on the results of the stress tests of the nuclear power plant, ”said R. Govovchenko after a video conference of the leaders of the countries of the Eastern Association.
Golovchenko’s statement was distributed by the press service of the Belarusian government.
In 2016, the stress tests of the Astrava nuclear power plant were carried out by Atomprojekt, a subsidiary of the main contractor of the Russian power plant, Rosatom. An evaluation of its results by a working group of international experts established by the European Commission and the European Group of Nuclear Safety Regulators (ENSREG) revealed a number of shortcomings in the project in a report published in July 2018.
In June, Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas expressed his hope that the EC will make political decisions regarding the Astravas nuclear power plant. According to the Minister, the involvement of the European Union at the technical level is no longer sufficient. He noted that the requirements for stress tests have not yet been met.
Lithuania is the biggest critic of this project and is determined to boycott its access to the electricity market. Minsk denies Vilnius’ criticism of the plant’s insecurity.
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