MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Threats posed by the Astravets nuclear power plant – E-000325/2025(ASW)

The Commission shares the concerns regarding the safety of the Astravets nuclear power plan. Given the current political situation, all bilateral relations with the authorities of Russia and Belarus have been suspended.

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group completed a peer review of the post-Fukushima nuclear safety assessment ‘stress tests’ of the Astravets nuclear power plant in 2021 and issued safety improvement recommendations.

The nuclear safety regulator of Belarus drew up a National Action Plan, updated in 2023[1], to implement these recommendations. The Commission continues to monitor Belarus’s progress in implementing them within the framework of relevant multilateral conventions adopted under the auspices the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but it is not currently in a position to restart contacts with the Belarus nuclear safety regulator.

The Commission will continue to maintain contacts with the IAEA, which has the mandate to promote the implementation of international nuclear safety standards worldwide, including in Belarus.

The Commission intends to use existing international peer review mechanisms, notably the upcoming Eighth Review Meeting of the Joint Convention[2] in March 2025 and the Convention on Nuclear Safety Review Meeting in March 2026 to probe the implementation by Belarus of its obligations under these Conventions, which are relevant for Belarus follow-up of the findings of the stress tests peer review [3].

• [1] https://gosatomnadzor.mchs.gov.by/znaniya-dlya-kazhdogo/biblioteka/
• [2] Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, adopted under IAEA auspices in 1997. In December 2024, the Commission, on behalf of Euratom, analysed Belarus National Report and inquired the Country on several safety aspects of spent fuel and radioactive waste management.
• [3] The position for the upcoming Joint Convention Review Meeting is coordinated with the Member States in the Working Party on Atomic Questions of the Council.