In anticipation of an EBRD loan, Ukraine’s president, Leonid Kuchma, has ordered a new nuclear regulatory authority set up to operate independently of any other government body. This comes after eight years of sporadic attempts to reorganise Ukraine’s nuclear industry and regulatory system, satisfies one of the main outstanding Western preconditions for more substantial financial aid to the Ukrainian nuclear sector.
The new body, the State Nuclear Regulatory Committee of Ukraine, will take over nuclear regulatory responsibilities currently held by the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry and the state nuclear safety inspectorate. Kuchma said this would comply with Ukraine’s requirements under two international conventions, governing nuclear safety and the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management respectively. The government is now required to submit within a month a draft statute to create a new body, including allocation of staff, material and logistic support, and financial resources.
