Nuclear Energy Agency Online Bulletin

June 2003

Legal affairs news

Framework Agreement for the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR)

The Framework Agreement for the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) was signed by several OECD member countries* and the Russian Federation in Stockholm, Sweden on 21 May 2003. The MNEPR provides a legal framework under which multilateral nuclear assistance projects in north-west Russia, particularly in the Barents Sea region, can proceed. Current projects include enhancing the safety of spent nuclear fuel in the region and decommissioning nuclear submarines and icebreakers.

This Agreement is the culmination of extensive negotiations following the adoption of the MNEPR Declaration of Principles in 1999 (the text and a description of this Declaration were published in Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 63). A Protocol on Claims, Legal Proceedings and Indemnification was adopted in addition to the MNEPR Framework Agreement. It contains, in particular, a model indemnity confirmation letter to be provided by the Russian Federation Ministry for Atomic Energy to each contractor providing assistance under the Framework Agreement.

The NEA Secretariat provided legal support throughout the negotiation of both the Framework Agreement and the Protocol. The OECD Secretary-General and the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been designated as co-depositories for both instruments. The text of the Framework Agreement and the Protocol will appear in Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 71.

*The Framework Agreement was signed by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. The United States did not sign the Protocol on Claims, Legal Proceedings and Indemnification.

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