Article 1
1
For the purposes of giving immediate and practical implementation to some elements of the EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Union shall contribute to the establishment and the secure management of a Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank placed under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (‘IAEA’, or ‘the Agency’) in order to reduce the growing proliferation risks caused by the spread of sensitive nuclear fuel cycle technologies. The Union shall undertake activities to support the IAEA LEU Bank, in the form of a LEU reserve with the following objectives:
a
to enable countries to enjoy their rights under Article IV of the NPT while avoiding proliferation risks; and
b
to serve as a mechanism of last resort to support the commercial market without distorting it, in the event that an IAEA member state's supply of LEU is disrupted and cannot be restored by commercial means and that such IAEA Member State fulfils the eligibility criteria.
2
In order to achieve the objectives referred in paragraph 1, the Union shall contribute to the establishment and the secure management of the LEU Bank, under the control of the IAEA, by financing security-related activities, including physical protection, transport, safe guarding, and contributions to the secure management of the LEU Bank. The project shall be carried out for the benefit of all countries which have decided to resort to nuclear energy for peaceful uses.
A detailed description of the project is set out in the Annex.