Legislation to bring Ukraine's nuclear power use laws in line with EU ones takes effect

MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - Laws intended to bring Ukraine's legislation on the use of nuclear power in line respective European Union laws entered into force in Ukraine on December 11. The relevant bills were signed into law by President Vladimir Zelensky and were published in the Verkhovna Rada's official journal on December 10.

This legislation has been included in the list of Ukraine's European integration laws and has been designated by the government as a priority, Ukrainian media said.

Specifically, under the new law that amends Ukraine's law "On the use of atomic energy and radiation safety", the provisions of the law that update nuclear legislation, including by amending certain definitions and terms, shall be brought in line with the provisions of Council of the EU Directive 2014/87/ Euratom.

State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), in turn, said on its website on Monday that the implementation of provisions of this law will also help unify the terminology in Ukraine's legislation with that in the EU's laws and set qualifying requirements for contractors of entities that use nuclear power.

Furthermore, the document will update the requirements for nuclear facility operators' duties to take all measures to prevent disasters and, if they still happen, mitigate their consequences and will complement SNRIU's powers to organize regular evaluations of the legal and regulatory framework in the field of nuclear power use.

Meanwhile, the legislation amending Ukraine's law "On the use of atomic energy and radiation safety" paves the way for establishing the institution of Ukraine's radiation safety expert, who will offer consultative services to entities in the field of nuclear power use, other legal entities and individuals, and agencies that oversee compliance with the requirements of nuclear and radiation safety laws.

The law also sets the main requirements for a candidate for the post of Ukraine's radiation safety experts and designates an agency that will confirm the expert's competence.

Another document from this package is a law that amends a number of Ukrainian laws updating permitting activities in the field of nuclear power use, which regulate the issuance of nuclear power use permits and the provision of radiation safety in line with EU standards.

The execution of this law will help update the procedure for issuing permits for activities in the field of nuclear power use bearing in mind the provisions of relevant EU laws and the record of permitting activities, SNRIU said.