Symposium on the Nuclear Safeguards System: present and future

On 15-18 May, 2017, the Symposium and the 39th Anniversary Meeting of the ESARDA (European Safeguards Research and Development Association) was held in Germany with nearly 200 participants. Hungary was represented by Mr Árpád Vincze, head of department and Ms Hedvig Éva Nagy, nuclear safeguards inspector from the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority.

The European Safeguards Research and Development Association, ESARDA, congregates European organizations acting in the field of nuclear safeguards, including members of national authorities, nuclear facilities and research centres.


The main mission of the ESARDA is to support the activity of the European Safeguard Community: development of safeguard systems, increasing the efficiency of the systems and devices as well as the development and application of new techniques. Further tasks of the ESARDA include providing the public with authentic information on nuclear safeguards issues.

The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has been actively involved in the activities of the organization: between 2011 and 2012, HAEA gave the president of ESARDA, and the Hungarian authority regularly delegates chairmen to the working groups and members to the Editorial Board of the organization.

The first day of the event started with meetings of the Executive Board, the Steering Committee and working groups. The HAEA is honoured to delegate one of its experts to the five-member Executive Board.

The conference was opened by the President of the Organization, Irmgard Niemeyer and Filippo Sevini, ESARDA Secretary. After the Plenary Session, several different agendas were discussed simultaneously (implementation of safeguards, destructive analysis, non-destructive analysis, gamma measurements, international collaboration, geological repositories, surveillance and containment, etc.).

In addition to the presentations, a panel discussion took place on the occasion of the twenty-year anniversary of the Additional Protocol, with the participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Commission as well as representatives of ten countries, including Hungary, in order to present what benefits, difficulties and challenges are posed by the Additional Protocol to member states.