EU again requires Armenia to close Metsamor NPP

For years, many environmental experts have been noting that the Metsamor nuclear power plant (NPP) in Armenia is the main threat to the regional environment and people’s lives. Unfortunately, the plant that outlived its usefulness still continues its operation as the Armenian government refuses to close it despite the constant calls from international organizations.

The need for the closure of the Metsamor NPP has recently been once again noted by the Council of the European Union.

The Council published the text of the Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU, which will presumably be signed in November during the summit of the Eastern Partnership. The 357-page agreement includes mainly general provisions of a political nature. However, it also touches upon the future fate of the Metsamor NPP.

Thus, the part of the agreement concerning the nuclear safety notes the importance of compliance with high level standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and specifically the need for closure and safe decommissioning of the Metsamor NPP. It also notes the need to replace the plant with new ways of ensuring Armenia’s energy security.

Since the 1990s, international experts have constantly noted that the NPP poses a threat to the region and that it is, in fact, a historical anomaly, as it was built on the line of the seismic fault.

Back in 2013, head of the EU delegation to Armenia Traian Hristea stressed that the issue of the exploitation of the Metsamor NPP is one of the main issues on the agenda of the Armenia-EU relations. In 2014, the European Commission again urged Armenia to close the plant as soon as possible. In 2015, Hristea once again stated that the closure of the Metsamor NPP and its decommissioning remains among main goals of the European Union.

The construction of the Metsamor NPP started in 1970. The plant was closed after a devastating earthquake of 1988 in the town of Spitak. However, in 1995, despite numerous protests of international community, the Armenian government renewed the operation of the NPP.

A number of international experts have repeatedly urged that due to its deplorable state, the Armenian Metsamor NPP could repeat the fate of the Chernobyl NPP, thus threatening the lives of the Armenians and citizens of adjacent countries. The possible tragedy will also jeopardize the environmental state of the region. Moreover, its consequences will be felt in Europe and the Middle East.

It is noteworthy that while addressing the Council of Europe, Armenia undertook closure of the station, but has not fulfilled this commitment. Moreover, the European Union offered 200 million Euro to Armenia for the closure of the plant. Despite this, the NPP is still functioning as no alternative sources of energy exist in Armenia.

Thus, the inclusion of the demand to close the plant into the new Armenia-EU agreement is, of course, not surprising for the country. However, the Armenian government will likely try to find yet another way to delay the closure of the old NPP.