On 16-17 October, 2017, the annual Austrian-Hungarian bilateral meeting was held at the headquarters of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority. During the meeting, which was attended by nearly 40 experts, both parties informed each other about the main changes, results and developments of the past year and the challenges ahead. The main topics of the meeting were the changes in the legal framework, the state of play of the new nuclear units at Paks NPP, the lifetime extension of the existing units, emergency preparedness, radiation monitoring, radioactive waste management in the two countries and the results of the IPPAS Mission conducted in Hungary in the summer of 2017.
At the 23rd bilateral meeting,
the Hungarian delegation was led by Mr. Gyula Fichtinger, Director General
of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority. The members of the delegation
were representatives of the Minister without Portfolio, the Ministry of
National Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, MVM Paks Ltd., PURAM,
the National Public Health Centre and the National Food Chain Safety Office.
Led by Ms. Ulrike Hartmann,
Director of the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs,
the Austrian delegation included representatives of the local governments
in Austria, as well as high-ranking officers of the Ministry for Agriculture,
Forestry, Environment and Water Management, the Ministry of Science, Research
and Economy, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and experts from universities.
In his opening speech, Mr.
Gyula Fichtinger emphasized that the bilateral talks give a good opportunity
for both delegations to obtain detailed information on the peaceful use
of atomic energy in their countries, ensuring transparency.
In the beginning, both parties
informed each other about the changes in the legal framework in their countries
in the past one-year period. Several questions about the amendment of the
Act on Atomic Energy in Hungary were answered by Mr László Czottner, Chief
Legal Expert of the HAEA.
During the meeting, the
Austrian delegation expressed special interest in the new nuclear units
of Paks NPP, especially the seismic safety of the site. Mr Attila Aszódi,
State Secretary responsible for the capacity maintenance of Paks NPP, held
a comprehensive presentation on the subject and answered the questions
of the Austrian party. In his presentation, Mr Gábor Petőfi, Head of Department
at the HAEA, gave further information about the new units as well as the
lifetime extension of the existing ones at Paks NPP, the IRRS Action Plan
and other topics.
Detailed presentations were
held about emergency preparedness, waste treatment and management, research
and training reactors and radiation monitoring. Mr Árpád Vincze, Head of
Department at the HAEA, talked about the outcome and lessons learned from
the IPPAS Follow-up Mission, which took place in the summer of 2017 in
Hungary.
In her closing remarks, the head of the Austrian delegation, Ms Ulrike Hartmann, expressed their gratitude for the organization of the two-day meeting and highly appreciated the openness of the Hungarian party. She also stated that the Austrian delegation had received comprehensive answers to all their questions.