James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
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Global Partnership Resource Page

by Egil Tronstad and Cristina Chuen

After four years of negotiations, the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) Framework Agreement was signed in Stockholm on May 21, 2003. This agreement is the first general framework agreement covering European nuclear assistance projects in Russia. It was designed to facilitate projects addressing problems regarding radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, focusing initially on the Northwest region. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh said at the signing ceremony that this agreement is an important step forward in international cooperation between Russia and its neighbors.[1] The European Commission, nine European countries, Russia, and the United States negotiated the MNEPR agreement.[2] Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands signed the agreement.[3] The United States also signed the MNEPR agreement, but declined to sign the "Protocol on Claims, Legal Proceedings and Indemnification," since the United States receives greater liability coverage under the existing Comprehensive Threat Reduction (CTR) umbrella agreement and will conduct MNEPR- relevant activities under this arrangement.[4] The signing of MNEPR will finally allow the release of funds for several European nuclear assistance projects that have been delayed by the lack of an agreement on access, liability, and other issues. While the agreement is focused on environmental issues, not proliferation concerns, the MNEPR framework agreement notes that it "may also apply to projects or any other form of cooperation in other areas of nuclear activities... if so agreed by the Parties concerned," opening the way for additional projects envisioned under the Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, initiated at the G8 summit in Kananaskis on June 27, 2002. (For more information on the Global Partnership, see the Global Partnership Resources page.)

Background
In response to a Norwegian initiative, a declaration regarding the desirability of the MNEPR program was signed by then-US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Foreign Policy Hans van der Broek at the March 1999 meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council meeting in Bodo, Norway.[5]

Since that time, many countries have played an active role in negotiating this agreement. Several times, Russia and the other parties have appeared to be nearing agreement, only to have the Russians call for revising the draft arrangement. However, at the January 2003 Barents Euro-Arctic Council meeting of prime ministers, a breakthrough was achieved when Russia dropped its demands regarding taxation, making it possible for the agreement to be signed in May.[6]

The MNEPR Agreement
The MNEPR Agreement is an instrument that addresses the critical legal questions of site access, tax exemption, and liability issues.[7] Site access implies access to work sites, principally in order to ensure that projects are being implemented as agreed. Tax exemption involves full exemption from taxes, duties, levies, and other charges on assistance, materials, and remuneration for assistance work. The liability issue is addressed in a freestanding protocol attached to the agreement that deals with coverage for nuclear accidents. The biggest problems in the MNEPR negotiations have been tax issues and the wording (i.e., the scope of coverage) of the liability provisions. While taxation should no longer prove an obstacle to international financial assistance for environmental and nuclear programs in Russia, since Russia dropped its demand that assistance providers initially pay value-added taxes and receive refunds via a complex process, liability problems may still arise in some nuclear projects. Russia would like to use MNEPR as a model for agreements covering most G8 projects.[8] However, potential Western participants in some of the more complex nuclear projects, such as the project to build a mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel plant in Russia, are insisting on third-party nuclear liability coverage equivalent to that provided under the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Framework Agreement, which goes beyond MNEPR provisions.[9]
(For the text of the MNEPR agreement, and the MNEPR liability protocol in English, or the MNEPR agreement and MNEPR liability protocol in Russian, please click on the links.]

MNEPR and Environmental Issues
With the world's highest density of nuclear reactors and nuclear materials concentrated in northwest Russia, the legacy from the former Soviet Union constitutes both an environmental and a proliferation threat. Decommissioned submarines with spent nuclear fuel aboard are scattered across several bases on the Kola Peninsula and at Severodvinsk. Spent nuclear fuel storage sites are in poor condition and their physical security is insufficient. Current priorities include securing and cleaning up the spent nuclear fuel storage sites at Andreyeva Bay and Gremikha, and dismantling old decommissioned non-strategic submarines, many still with nuclear fuel. Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov remarked during the signing ceremony on the importance of identifying and reaching agreement on concrete projects. He noted that this agreement will be used as a guide in working out bilateral projects under the Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.[10]

The MNEPR agreement was concluded to facilitate work in three main areas: radioactive waste management, spent nuclear fuel security, and reactor safety. The latter will allow, among other things, the enhancement of security at the Leningrad and Kola nuclear power plants.[11] The agreement will allow the release of funding for several international programs dealing with these issues. Roughly NKr 1 billion ($144 million as of May 23, 2003) has been allocated for the reconstruction and improvement of radioactive waste storage sites on the Kola Peninsula.[12] In July 2002, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and the EU Commission pledged through the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) to provide €110 million ($123 million as of May 23, 2003), of which €62 million is earmarked for radioactive waste clean up on the Kola Peninsula and for upgrading safety at Russian nuclear power plants. At a later date, Germany and Belgium have pledged to make contributions as well.[13] During the signing ceremony, France also announced that it will make a significant contribution. The NDEP is administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD).

Moving Global Partnership Projects Forward: Solving the Liability Issue
The MNEPR agreement is a step forward, allowing the implementation of important assistance projects that improve security at storage sites and nuclear power plants, and clean up radioactive waste. Although geared towards environmental concerns, it also addresses some proliferation risks, and is likely to increase European participation in Global Partnership projects, assuaging US concerns that other nations are not providing their share of the funding for projects ensuring nuclear nonproliferation. However, to prevent the threat of terrorists obtaining weapons of mass destruction (WMD) materials that might be used in an attack, far more needs to be done. Potential foreign aid donors not covered by the CTR Agreement appear unwilling to embark upon some of the projects to tackle terrorism if liability concerns are not addressed further. Russia does not adhere to international nuclear liability conventions, and has not yet adopted strong domestic liability legislation.[14] MNEPR does not provide indemnification against all prosecution for nuclear damage, which Western companies participating in nuclear projects in Russia might cause. The United States has insisted that US companies and individuals be "held harmless" for any nuclear damage, a provision offered under CTR. Other nations have voiced similar concerns. Although some legal experts have argued that this sort of liability provision is unlikely to stand up in US court, and point out that Russia would be unable to pay for a major nuclear accident, Western companies are unlikely to undertake projects where they are directly involved in the handling of radioactive materials in Russia without this sort of coverage. (For more information about the liability issue, and other possibly ways to address this concern, please see R. Douglas Brubaker and Leonard S. Spector, Liability and Western Nonproliferation Assistance to Russia: Time for a Fresh Look? (PDF)) In addition, MNEPR does not address chemical and biological weapons issues. Therefore, there are still important Global Partnership projects that cannot yet commence. Pushing the Global Partnership forward was an important focus at the summit in St. Petersburg, Russia on May 31-June 1, and the June 1-3 G8 summit in Evian, France. At Evian, world leaders endorsed an action plan that noted MNEPR "had demonstrated substantial progress in translating the Global Partnership initiative into concrete actions,"[15] and renewed their commitment to WMD assistance projects in Russia and elsewhere. If the momentum begun by MNEPR and the G8 meeting at Evian can be maintained, and Moscow can be persuaded to sign even stronger liability agreements, the global community can finally finish the practical work needed to secure WMD materials in Russia.

[1] Anna Lindh, Minister of the Swedish Foreign Affairs, speech at the Signing of the MNEPR, Stockholm, May 21, 2003, http://www.regeringen.se/galactica/service=irnews/owner=sys/action=obj_show?c_obj_id=51842.
[2] Morten Bremer Maerli, "Strengthening Cooperative Threat Reduction with Russia - The Norwegian Experience," Norwegian Institute of International Affairs Working Paper no. 633, December 2002, p. 25.
[3] NTB, "Historisk atomavtale undertegnet," Aftenposten online edition, 21 May 2003, http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/article.jhtml?articleID=549975.
[4] Charles Digges and Igor Kudrik "MNEPR Accord Signed in Stockholm Wednesday," Bellona Website, May 21, 2003, http://www.bellona.no/en/international/russia/navy/co/operation/29654.html. For additional details, please see R. Douglas Brubaker and Leonard S. Spector, Liability and Western Nonproliferation Assistance to Russia: Time for a Fresh Look? The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Spring 2003), pp. 1-39.
[5] "Sixth Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) Meeting Held in Bodo, Norway," UN in Russia online edition,  http://www.undp.ru/eng/NewsletterAprPage3.htm; NISNP interview with Norwegian Radiation Authority personnel, April 21, 2000.
[6] "Agreement on nuclear safety in Russia to be signed in Stockholm on 21 May," The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.ud.se/inenglish/frontpage/MNEPR.htm.
[7] "Foreign Minister Anna Lindh's Speech at the Signing of the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) Agreement in Stockholm 21 May 2003," Swedish Government Website, http://www.regeringen.se/galactica/service=irnews/owner=sys/action=obj_show?c_obj_id=51842.
[8] See comments by Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov and other Foreign Ministry insiders, sited in Sergey Strokan, "V Stokgolm so svoimi otkhodami," Kommersant, May 22, 2003; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.ru.
[9] Ann MacLachlan, "West Seeks Strong Liability Clause for Russian MOX Plant Program," NuclearFuel, April 14, 2003; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://www.lexis-nexis.com.
[10] "Remarks by Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov at the Signing Ceremony of the Agreement on the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program," Daily News Bulletin Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, 21 May 2003.
[11] "Foreign Minister Anna Lindh's Speech at the Signing of the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) Agreement in Stockholm 21 May 2003."
[12] Henrik Width, "Avtale skal sikre sanering på Kola," Aftenposten online edition, May 22, 2003, http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article.jhtml?articleID=550452.
[13] "Agreement on nuclear safety in Russia to be signed in Stockholm on 21 May," The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.ud.se/inenglish/frontpage/MNEPR.htm.
[14] MacLachlan, "West Seeks Strong Liability Clause for Russian MOX Plant Program."
[15] "Global Partnership Agreement Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction: A G8 Action Plan," Evian Summit Website, http://www.g8.fr/evian/english/home.html.

CNS Experts on the Global Partnership:

• Mr. Leonard S. Spector | Bio
  Deputy Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, head of the CNS Washington D.C. Office
  Telephone: (202) 478-3425
  Email: leonard.spector@miis.edu

• Dr. Clay Moltz | Bio
  Director, Newly Independent States Nonproliferation Program (NISNP), Center for Nonproliferation Studies
  Telephone: (831) 647-3521
  Email: cmoltz@miis.edu

• Ms. Cristina Chuen | Bio
  Research Associate, NISNP (expert on Russia and Naval Issues)
  Telephone: (831) 647-6540
  Email: cristina.chuen@miis.edu

• Mr. Michael Jasinski | Bio
  Research Associate, NISNP (expert on CTR Issues)
  Telephone: (831) 647-3085
  Email: michael.jasinski@miis.edu