The Nuclear Safeguards Bill has become one of the first pieces of
legislation addressing the United Kingdom’s departure from the
European Union to complete its passage through Parliament.
The Bill, which will shortly become an Act,
addresses the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom), an international organisation that
governs the peaceful use of nuclear energy within the EU. This
essential legislation enables the Government to establish a
domestic nuclear safeguards regime following departure from
Euratom and provides a clear signal to the public, industry and
international partners that the UK is on track to meet its
obligations from day one of exit.
Nuclear safeguards are important processes
through which the UK demonstrates to the international community
that civil nuclear material is not diverted into military or
weapons programmes.
The UK’s commitment to international safeguards
and nuclear non-proliferation was reaffirmed in Vienna today,
with two new safeguards agreements with the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) receiving formal approval by the IAEA Board
of Governors.
These key agreements with the IAEA – of which
the UK is a founding member – are a major milestone in Euratom
exit preparations and provide the basis for civil nuclear trading
arrangements. This step will be welcomed by the industry in the
UK and trading partners around the world.
Minister for Business and Industry
said:
“This major step in our work to prepare for
Euratom exit ensures that we will continue in our role as a
responsible nuclear state after leaving the EU and
Euratom.
“These new agreements emphasise our continued
commitment to the IAEA and to international safeguards and
nuclear non-proliferation, ensuring continuity for our civil
nuclear industry from day one of exit.”
, Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European
Union, said:
“These agreements are a positive step and will
help ensure our cooperation with third countries in the field of
nuclear energy will continue. This good progress gives the UK
nuclear industry the confidence that there will be no disruption
of these arrangements as we leave the EU.”
These developments come just weeks after the UK
signed a new Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) with the United
States of America, which will allow the UK and US to continue
their mutually beneficial civil nuclear cooperation when the
current Euratom arrangements cease to apply to the UK.
The US-UK NCA is the first in a series of new
international agreements ensuring uninterrupted cooperation and
trade following the UK’s exit from Euratom.
Notes to Editors
-
The Nuclear
Safeguards Bill will amend the Energy Act 2013
to:
-
Provide the Office for Nuclear Regulation
with a new safeguards function
-
Create new powers for the Secretary of
State to put in place regulations setting out the detail of
the domestic safeguards regime
-
The Bill will also create a limited power for
the Secretary of State to amend three existing pieces of
legislation to update references to the new IAEA
agreements.
-
The IAEA Board of Governors approved the UK’s
Voluntary Offer Agreement and Additional Protocol at a meeting
of the Board of Governors in Vienna on 6 June.
-
The UK has been a member of the IAEA since its
formation in 1957.
-
The approval of new bilateral agreements with
the IAEA, a Voluntary Offer Agreement (VOA) and Additional
Protocol (AP), will replace existing trilateral arrangements
between the IAEA, Euratom and the UK.
-
The new agreements ensure that the IAEA
retains its right to inspect all civil nuclear facilities, and
continues to receive current safeguards reporting, thereby
ensuring that international verification of our safeguards
activity continues to be robust. Such agreements have been put
in place on a voluntary basis by the five nuclear-weapon States
parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons.
-
The new safeguards regime to be established in
the UK will be operated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation
(ONR). The ONR already regulates nuclear safety and security in
the UK and has been making preparation to replace Euratom as
the regulator of safeguards.
