National Atomic Energy Agency

One of the leading topics of this year's General Conference was the threat to the safety of nuclear power plants in Ukraine caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation. In her speech, Minister Anna Moskwa, head of the Polish delegation, called on Russia to withdraw troops from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and other nuclear facilities.

During the Conference PAA’s delegation held consultations with international partners regarding activities  to strengthen nuclear safety, including the situation in Ukraine. An important topics of PAA’s consultations were also cooperation and exchange of experience with international partners, supporting the preparation of the Agency for licensing and supervision over the construction of planned nuclear power plants in Poland. PAA also held talks on the licensing of new technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR).

During the Conference, the President of the PAA, Łukasz Młynarkiewicz, and the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC), Christopher Hanson, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of nuclear safety. This is another bilateral agreement between the Polish and US nuclear regulatory authorities, the cooperation of which began in 2010. The signing of the Agreement took place in the presence of Minister Anna Moskwa.

PAA President Łukasz Młynarkiewicz also had a meeting with Oleh Korikov, Chairman of the Ukrainian nuclear regulatory authority - SNRIU. The discussion focused on cooperation and ongoing exchange of information on the safety of nuclear facilities between PAA and SNRIU, which is especially important in the face of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

The PAA’s delegation held bilateral meetings with delegations of nuclear regulatory authorities and technical organizations from Canada, United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary.

During the Conference, PAA’s representatives held dialogue with representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The main topics were the preparations for the Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission (IRRS) in Poland in 2023 and the implementation of the IAEA Technical Cooperation Program projects in our country.

During the weekly session, representatives of the Member States discuss issues related to global cooperation in various fields related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Nuclear safety and radiological protection are an important aspect of the discussion. This year's 66th IAEA General Conference in Vienna was held on September 26-30.

Every year, the General Conference brings together senior representatives from over 170 member countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, to summarize the results of activities undertaken over the past 12 months and set goals for the peaceful use of nuclear energy for the next year.