The progress, forecasts and organizational needs of the organization and its main projects for the current year were discussed

Information was provided on the development of the high-level groups on public participation and gender equality in which the CSN participates

The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council has participated in the 147th session of the Steering Committee of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), part of the OECD, held in Paris. A delegation from the Spanish regulatory body, headed by its general secretary, Pablo Martín González, joined the representative of the Spanish Government in this meeting where the progress, forecasts and needs of the organization have been addressed, as well as the evaluation of its main activities in 2023.

The NEA Steering Committee oversees and defines the work of the international agency to ensure that it achieves the needs of member states, especially by establishing biennial work programs and budgets. The Steering Committee approves the mandates of the NEA's seven main committees.

The NEA Director General, William Magwood, reported during the opening of the meeting on the state of the Agency and the main projects underway. Among its main strategic lines, he highlighted the promotion of the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), the promotion of gender equality and initiatives aimed at building capacity in the nuclear sector, among other issues.

The NEA Steering Committee Chair, Marta Žiaková, detailed the news of the organization since the previous meeting and led the committee's discussions, whose spring session has been developed over two days of work.

A very relevant activity within the NEA is the maintenance of the so-called Data Bank (NEA Data Bank), which allows member countries to share experimental data, statistics and data on operational experience, calculation codes and evaluation. This transversal initiative facilitates collective learning and the transfer of knowledge on a global scale, based on the collective operational experience accumulated by the Agency's member countries.

 The execution of the NEA and its Data Bank budget for 2023 was presented during this meeting and the preliminary forecasts for the 2025-2026 biennium were presented. It will culminate in the discussion and definition of the budgets for that period during the next meetings of 2024.

The progress on public participation of stakeholders, transparency and trust in nuclear regulators, from the hand of the high-level group focused on this matter (HLG-SET) was also discussed. Likewise, the latest progress in gender equality has been commented, an area in which the CSN actively participates through the so-called high-level group on gender equality (HLG-GB) and other national and international groups and initiatives. A sign of the CSN's involvement in these matters is the high-level representation and active participation of the regulator in both groups.

During the meetings, the support activities that the organization provides to Ukraine have also been presented. In the same trend, the maintenance of the suspension of the participation of the Russian Federation in the Agency has been informed.

Finally, among other topics, the NEA Secretariat has informed the Steering Committee about the joint initiative of the NEA with the OECD Development Centre "Common Journey" in Africa, which should be coordinated with other international efforts and initiatives on that continent.

NEA