FPN03-36

High Level ITER Preparations Begin

June 29, 2003

Since November 2001, eight ITER Negotiations meetings have been held, paving the way to the first high level ITER Preparatory Meeting June 19 at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. High level government officials from the European Union, Japan, Russia, Canada, United States, China and Republic of Korea participated.

The meeting discussed the following topics: (1) the site for ITER, (2) key personnel to head the ITER management structure, (3) procurement allocations, i.e., which Party provides which components, and (4) cost sharing formulas for the construction, operation and decommissioning phases of the ITER project. At the June 19 meeting, a schedule and work plan was agreed upon with the goal to reach agreement on these matters in Autumn 2003. The next meeting is scheduled for early October in Vienna.

Further information on ITER and the negotiations is posted at http://www.iter.org