On 12 December 2003, the European Council adopted the EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (‘the Strategy’), Chapter III of which contains a list of measures to combat such proliferation and which need to be taken both within the Union and in third countries.

The Union is actively implementing the Strategy and is giving effect to the measures listed in Chapter III thereof, in particular through releasing financial resources to support specific projects conducted by multilateral institutions, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Article IV of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) stipulates the inalienable right of all the Parties to the NPT to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of the NPT. It also stipulates that all the Parties to the NPT undertake to ‘cooperate in contributing alone or together with other States or international organizations to the further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially in the territories of non-nuclear-weapon States Party to the Treaty, with due consideration for the needs of the developing areas of the world’.

Multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle have the potential to provide countries which have decided to resort to nuclear energy for peaceful uses with an alternative to the development of national nuclear fuel cycles, while avoiding proliferation risks.

Under Article III of its Statute, the IAEA is authorised to perform any operation, including acquiring nuclear fuel, services and equipment and establishing its own facilities and plants, in order to facilitate the practical application of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

In September 2006, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), an independent non-governmental organisation based in the United States, offered a grant of USD 50 000 000 to the IAEA to help create a low enriched uranium stockpile owned and managed by the IAEA on the condition that the Agency should be able to collect an additional amount of USD 100 000 000, including grants from other IAEA Member States and donors, and set up a nuclear fuel reserve.

On 8 December 2008, the Council adopted conclusions in support of the establishment and the secure management of a nuclear fuel bank placed under the control of the IAEA. It also stated that the Union was planning to contribute up to EUR 25 000 000 to that project, once the conditions and modalities for the Bank have been defined and approved by the IAEA Board of Governors. The European Commission has already provided EUR 20 000 000 for the acquisition of the LEU.

On 3 December 2010, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted resolution GOV/2010/70 approving the establishment of an IAEA Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank and affirmed that the IAEA LEU Bank's operations would be funded exclusively through extra-budgetary contributions.

Paragraph 15 of GOV/2010/67, entitled ‘Assurance of Supply’: Establishment of an IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank for the Supply of LEU to Member States provides ‘the Agency shall be the owner of the LEU in the IAEA LEU bank and the LEU shall be under its control and in its formal legal possession. The Agency shall be responsible for storing and protecting materials in its possession by ensuring, through any Host State Agreement, that the LEU is safeguarded against natural and other hazards, unauthorized removal or diversion, damage or destruction, including sabotage, and forcible seizure. In addition, the Agency through any Host State Agreement shall ensure the application of IAEA safeguards to the LEU in the IAEA LEU bank, as well as the application of the safety standards and measures, and the physical protection measures by the Host State or States’. Paragraph 16 of GOV/2010/67 further provides that ‘[t]he Agency, with Board approval, shall conclude with any Host State a Host State Agreement, similar to the present IAEA Headquarters Agreement, that shall provide for the safety and security and appropriate liability coverage of the storage facility and shall afford those privileges and immunities to the Agency that are necessary for the independent operation of the IAEA LEU bank, including the right to transport LEU to and from the IAEA LEU bank as determined by the Agency in accordance with the Statute and the Host State(s) agreement. In addition, if necessary, guaranteed transit arrangements shall be concluded with States neighbouring the Host State’.

The IAEA LEU Bank will be a stock of up to 60 Type 30B cylinders containing standard commercial low-enriched uranium hexafluoride. The IAEA LEU Bank will be located in the IAEA LEU storage facility, operated by Ulba Metallurgical Plant, and regulated by the Committee for Atomic and Energy Supervision and Control of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The basic legal framework between the IAEA and the host State Kazakhstan has been concluded. The Transit Agreement with the Russian Federation, approved by the IAEA Board of Governors (GOV/2015/36) has been signed. The design of a new IAEA LEU storage facility has been completed and the IAEA has concluded that it meets the applicable provisions of the IAEA safety standards and security guidance. A detailed cost estimate of the new IAEA LEU storage facility has been undertaken and has been independently validated. A Partnership Agreement between the IAEA and the facility operator that establishes the terms and conditions of cooperation for the construction of the IAEA LEU storage facility has been finalised. The IAEA is now planning activities in preparation for the acquisition of LEU.

According to the Project and Financial Plan as described in the updated report by the IAEA Director-General (GOV/INF/2016/8) ‘Assurance of Supply: Establishment of an IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank for the Supply of LEU to Member States’, the total cost of the LEU project is expected to be EUR 118 863 000,