Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 14 October (BelTA) – Belarus is ready to inform Lithuania on the recommendations and suggestions proposed by the mission of the IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), Belarus’ Emergencies Minister Vladimir Vashchenko told media on 14 October, BelTA has learned.

“All the conclusions and proposals made by the mission will be published and made publicly available for all. I think that with the mission’s consent we will distribute all its conclusions among all the stakeholders. If needed, we will provide information on the progress in the implementation of the mission’s recommendations and suggestions,” noted Vladimir Vashchenko.

“We are absolutely open. We are ready to confirm this openness at any level,” the minister said.

Vladimir Vashchenko believes that the IRRS mission in Belarus will help allay Lithuania’s concerns. “The mission’s evaluation shows that Belarus has a reliable regulatory framework,” he explained.

The team offered 25 recommendations and 20 suggestions for Belarus to improve the regulatory framework both at the top level and at the level of technical regulations, enhance the authorization and oversight procedures, develop the system of regulatory technical support, and organize public discussion of major decisions of the regulatory authority and other issues.

Belarus hosted its first IRRS mission on 2-14 October. The major goal of the mission was to evaluate the conformity of Belarus’ regulatory infrastructure and regulating activity with the IAEA safety standards.