OREANDA-NEWS. August 10, 2007. Representatives of the international services of Rosenergoatom’s nuclear power plants and experts of the Concern’s International Activities Department met at the REA Office (Moscow) on Aug 7 2007 to discuss the projects to be carried out under the new program of cooperation with the European Commission in 2007.

The conferees examined the EC’s recommendations concerning the terms of the projects and considered ways to tailor them to the needs of the NPPs. They decided to coordinate their further actions in order to meet the EC’s deadline for drafting the package of tender documentation for the projects (Dec 2007, at latest).

The new program of the European Commission will last for seven years and costs a total of 450mln EUR. 1/3 of the money will be spent on projects in Russia. This program is a logic follow-up on the widely-known TACIS program. The first program was an instrument of support under hard transitional conditions, while the basic idea of the new one is transition from support to cooperation and mutual assistance in the sphere of nuclear safety.

A total of 20mln EUR will be allocated under the program this year, mostly, for projects aimed at optimizing preventive repairs, improving equipment testing and enhancing safety culture at the REA NPPs.