Former Delegation Staff Member Awarded with Parliamentary Honourable Diploma

March 31, 2005.

    *** Former Delegation Staff Member Awarded with Parliamentary Honourable Diploma
    Today Mr Nikita Konstantinov received an Horourable Diploma of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This award was given to Mr Konstantinov for his considerable contribution to the nuclear safety legislation and active participation in development and implementation of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) nuclear safety upgrading programmes in Ukraine during his work at the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine. The Diploma was presented by MP Mr Gennadiy Rudenko, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Environmental Policy, Natural Resource Management and Chornobyl Catastrophe Consequences Elimination, in the presence of Mr Ian Boag, European Commission Ambassador to Ukraine.
    Mr Konstantinov worked for the EC Delegation to Ukraine for 9 years between 1994 and September 2003, before his employment with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Nuclear Safety Department. At the Delegation, as a Senior Programme Manager on Nuclear Safety, Science and Technology, Mr Konstantinov was in charge of an overall coordination of the EC nuclear safety and research activities in Ukraine at the Delegation, including development and implementation of technical assistance nuclear safety programmes in Ukraine funded by the European Commission.
    Background: The Tacis Nuclear Safety programme was launched in 1992. The Programme’s objective is to achieve the highest possible level of nuclear safety at the partner countries’ installations and support the promotion of effective nuclear safety culture in the New Independent States. Over the first 10 years more than 630 million euros were allocated to some 600 projects dealing with nuclear safety in the NIS countries.
    In 2004-2006, assistance within Tacis Nuclear Safety programmes will follow the general priorities set by EU Council Regulation 99/2000, and the more detailed priorities established by the Nuclear Safety Strategy Paper 2002-2006. Within this framework, support to nuclear safety activities in Ukraine will focus on:
    - strengthening safety culture, at regulator and operator level and in relation to design safety,
    - implementing the MoU on Chernobyl, and for the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, and
    - activities in relation to safeguards and off-site emergency preparedness.
    The indicative allocations to the Ukrainian component of the Nuclear Safety Programmes 2004-2006 foresee about 117 million euros (including 15 million euros for continued support to the Science and Technology Centre in Ukraine).