The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during the first assembly meeting of the new International Chornobyl Co-Operation Account (ICCA) have agreed to continue the institutions' cooperation and develop a comprehensive plan for next steps in the process of decommissioning the Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP).

The EBRD said in a Tuesday press release that on the occasion of the first assembly meeting of the ICCA, President of the EBRD Odile Renaud-Basso and Director General of IAEA Rafael Mariano Grossi agreed to continue supporting Ukraine and achieve the goals set.

Having reviewed the support that each organisation has provided Ukraine in the past 35 years, and the progress achieved so far, they confirm their continuous support to Ukraine in the coming phase of decommissioning of Chornobyl.

"They [the sides] agree to work together in the framework of the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account in close cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities towards the delivery of safe and cost-effective solutions for the decommissioning of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and in managing the radioactive waste in the exclusion zone," the EBRD said.

The EBRD and IAEA recognised the need to develop a comprehensive plan for the site to ensure coherence, optimisation and complementarity between the different tasks.

In doing so, they will draw on the IAEA's technical mandate, knowledge and experience, and its network of international experts, and the EBRD's project and fund management experience, according to the press release.

"Despite an unprecedented level of international cooperation in the transformation of Chornobyl over the past decades, the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant and the management of radioactive waste in the exclusion zone remain the most challenging nuclear safety operations in the world. ICCA will aim to support capabilities that address these challenges. The EBRD stands ready to provide its services as a project and fund manager," EBRD Director of the Nuclear Safety Department Balthasar Lindauer said.

ICCA was established in November 2020 by the EBRD at the request of the government of Ukraine. It was set up as a multilateral fund to support the development of a comprehensive plan for Chornobyl, to consolidate existing planning as well as optimise and integrate all approaches to radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

Since 1995, the EBRD has been engaged in securing and transforming the site as a fund manager on behalf of the international community and as a donor.

Under the bank's leadership the Liquid Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant, the New Safe Confinement and the Interim Storage Facility-2 have been built.