Grossi warns of impracticality of EU sanctions against Rosatom

EU sanctions against Rosatom would be 'unrealistic and impractical' due to dependence on Russian nuclear sector, Grossi says Demand for uranium is growing, as is the presence of Russian capacity in the market Rafael Grossi

Many Western companies depend on supplies of enriched uranium or fuel from Russia, so imposing sanctions on the state corporation Rosatom seems "unrealistic and impractical", the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told Reuters .

According to him, this would “stop the nuclear industry in many countries.” Grossi noted that reducing dependence on the Russian nuclear sector would cost Europe “billions” and he does not see an immediate solution. The IAEA chief believes that the bigger problem is infrastructure and incentives, as well as forecasts for growth in demand for uranium worldwide.

"To be honest, I see an increase in the presence of Russian uranium enrichment capacities in the world rather than a decrease," Grossi emphasized.

The introduction of sanctions against the Russian nuclear sector has been discussed in the EU for a long time, but so far the bloc has refrained from this step. For example, Poland and Lithuania insisted on this, but Hungary and Bulgaria spoke out against it. Rosatom is building new units for the Paks NPP in Hungary.

In May last year, ahead of the introduction of the 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia, CNN, citing a high-ranking EU official, reported that Brussels believes that “sanctions alone” will not allow independence from energy supplies from Russia and that there are “other ways to achieve the same goal.”

Reuters notes that Rosatom supplies almost half of the world's enriched uranium. The US , like the EU, has not imposed sanctions on Russian uranium, despite the embargo onoil and oil products, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia, as well as calls from Kiev.

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Ukraine imposed sanctions on Rosatom last February. The state corporation then stated that it believed that nuclear energy should not be “hostage to political circumstances,” emphasizing that it operates around the world “transparently, in the interests of clients and partners, and in strict compliance with international obligations and national legislation.”

Rosatom is a Russian state corporation that combines assets in the energy, mechanical engineering and construction sectors, according to data on the organization's website. It accounts for 20% of all electricity generation in Russia. Rosatom has projects to build 34 nuclear power plant units in 12 countries around the world, and it is involved in all technological chains of the nuclear fuel cycle - from the extraction of natural uranium to the final stage of the life cycle of nuclear facilities.

Before the conflict in Ukraine, Russia was one of the main suppliers of uranium to the United States, as well as to the former Soviet republics in what is now the European Union. However, since February 2022, Moscow has stopped publishing customs foreign trade statistics.

The export of enriched uranium from Russia is handled by Rosatom's foreign trade company Techsnabexport (trade mark TENEX). In May 2022, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev reported to the head of state that Russia had reached second place in uranium production in the world, confidently holds first place in enrichment and conversion, and is consistently among the top three in fuel fabrication.