News

On the 17th of July, in the town of Craiova, Romania, representatives of civil society organizations from Romania and Bulgaria and representatives of the Bulgarian State Enterprise for Radioactive Waste (SERAW) participated in a second joint meeting. Participants discussed issues related to the construction of a repository for low and medium radioactive waste located at the Radiana site in Kozloduy, Bulgaria.

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is currently conducting a Problem-solving Initiative between civil society representatives and the SERAW Company. The PCM is the EBRD’s accountability mechanism which provides an opportunity for an independent review of complaints from one or more individuals or organisations concerning an EBRD Project.

Parties to the dialogue process established an agenda for the discussions in line with the Framework Agreement for the Dialogue Process, signed in Kozloduy on 7th December 2018 by Mr. Dilyan Petrov (the Executive Director of SERAW), Ms. Luminita Simoiu, and Ms. Albena Simionova (leads of civil society representatives from Romania and Bulgaria).

The main topics discussed in Craiova by the parties to the dialogue process included: the construction and site selection for the repository, its design and storage capacity, Project financing, the type of waste to be stored and the emergency plan.

In March 2018 civil society representatives from Romania and Bulgaria raised concerns with the EBRD’s PCM in relation to the financial support for the construction of the Radiana repository. The concerns raised relate to the Project’s possible impact on the population and the environment, highlighting the need for transparency and public consultations. EBRD is administering the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund, which co-finances the construction of the first stage and the supporting infrastructure of the National disposal facility to accommodate low and intermediate level radioactive waste coming from the decommissioning of Units 1-4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria.

In line with the PCM’s Rules of Procedure, Leonardo D’Urso was appointed to serve as the independent mediator for the Problem-solving Initiative to facilitate the dialogue between civil society representatives and SERAW. The objective of the Problem Solving Initiative is to address the issues raised without attributing blame or fault.