Multinational Approaches (MNAs)

Multinational approaches can be any arrangements whereby countries share responsibility or work closely together on aspects of a nuclear power programme. It is important that suppliers and customers work together to actively develop MNA proposals which meet their needs and concerns.

MNAs are designed to enhance confidence in the already reliable commercial market for nuclear fuel. MNAs will help achieve the necessary certainty that states will have reliable access to nuclear fuel for their civil nuclear power programmes, without necessarily having to develop their own costly and complex enrichment facilities.

As such, MNAs optimise conditions of cooperation, transparency and confidence to enable the safe and secure expansion of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

In 2005, Mohamed ElBaradei, then Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), invited specific proposals for Multinational Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle. To date, twelve proposals have been submitted.

These proposals have typically looked at a specific part of the nuclear fuel cycle. Another category of proposals have looked at more over-arching approaches to optimising the IAEA’s role in overseeing existing fuel cycle and information management systems.

An IAEA Working Group on MNAs usefully classified proposals under a simple three-tiered approach.

Tier One – Commercial Market

Tier Two – Political Assurance

Tier Three – Physical Solutions

Tier One

Proposals trust and improve confidence in the existing commercial market supply and identify ways to help the existing commercial market to resolve any shortfalls due to disruptions.

Tier Two

Proposals back the commercial supply market with Government agreements and provide additional political assurances to commercial contracts for the supply of nuclear fuel.

Tier Three

Proposals provide a physical stockpile of LEU that could be drawn upon when existing supplies are interrupted. This may include internationally held stockpiles, transferring current facilities to multinational ownership and building new international facilities.

Despite their variety, it must be noted that all such initiatives are complementary to each other. We hope that over time a full menu of complementary MNA programmes will be available for supplier and recipient states to choose from.

Source:-http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/global-issues/weapons/nuclear-weapons/peaceful-uses/010-nuclear-fuel-assurance/nfa-mnas

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