Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko called on his European colleagues to support Ukraine’s candidacy for the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The Energy Ministry reported in its Telegram channel on Monday that Galushchenko made such a proposal during an informal meeting of EU energy and transport ministers in Stockholm on February 27.
“The Energy Minister said that Ukraine is putting forward its candidacy for the IAEA Board of Governors for 2023-2025 and urged the meeting participants to join the discussion of this issue and support the Ukrainian application,” the ministry said.
The head of the Energy Ministry during the meeting thanked the EU representatives for the 10th package of sanctions against Russia and stressed the need to not only maintain the pressure on the aggressor, but also to extend it to all areas of the Russian energy sector, in particular the nuclear industry, the ministry said.
According to Galushchenko, the time has come to implement sanctions against Rosatom.
“It is time to go further and impose sanctions against Rosatom, which covers up the Russian regime’s nuclear terrorism and sponsors the Russian army. We welcome the decision by Finland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic to refuse to cooperate with Russia in the nuclear industry and call on other partners to take this step,” the minister said.
According to the IAEA, the Board of Governors is one of the agency’s two governing bodies along with the annual general conference of the IAEA member states.
The Council reviews the IAEA’s financial statements, program and budget and makes recommendations on them to the general conference. It reviews applications for membership in the agency, approves safeguards agreements, and publishes the IAEA’s safety standards. It also appoints the Agency’s Director General, who is approved by the General Conference.
