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EU backs plan to build nuclear fuel bank by 2010: Solana
Brussels (AFP) Dec 9, 2008 The European Union backs plans to create a nuclear fuel bank before 2010 which would ensure supplies and cut the need for nations to enrich uranium, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday. "We want the bank to be established very soon. In any case before the next NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) review conference in spring 2010," he said at a conference on nuclear disarmament. An EU official said that finally bringing a tool talked about for years into being "would positively influence the general climate surrounding the revision of the NPT". The treaty, signed in 1968 and which came into effect two years later, is in urgent need of an overhaul to confront present-day challenges such as the proliferation crises in North Korea, Iran and most recently Syria. Solana said that the EU has decided to support the fuel bank, to be run by the UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency, with a contribution of up to 25 million euros (32 million dollars). The money would be sent once the "conditions and modalities" for the bank have been defined and approved by the IAEA's board of governors, EU foreign ministers said in a statement after talks in Brussels Monday. The 27-nation bloc also said that it would undertake "in-depth discussions" on the bank with other countries and organisations. Solana, who has tried to negotiate a halt to Iran's controversial nuclear programme on behalf of the EU, has said in the past that creating such a bank could help resolve nuclear disputes. He believes it would provide open access to enriched fuel under fair conditions and at competitive prices. IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei welcomed the EU's offer. "The EU pledge, along with those by Norway, the UAE and the USA shows growing momentum for a new more equitable framework for nuclear energy," his office said in a statement. "It has been the Director General's view that the establishment of such a bank would be an important first step towards the multilateralization of the nuclear fuel cycle. "It would guarantee supply of nuclear fuel and reactor services to bona fide states and protect them from politically motivated disruption of supply while at the same time minimizing the risk of nuclear proliferation," it said. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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NKorea talks look at new Chinese proposal
Beijing (AFP) Dec 9, 2008Delegates from six nations focused Tuesday on a Chinese proposal on how to verify North Korea's claims about its atomic programme in talks aimed at ending the secretive regime's nuclear activities. |
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