FPN05-42
ITER Agreement Creeps Toward Conclusion
May 9, 2005
In a meeting May 5 in Geneva, negotiators from France and Japan reached
common agreement on "technical" aspects of their separate proposals for
terms relating to ITER siting. Though details have not officially been
disclosed, press reports and statements from participants say that both
sides now agree that the "winning" party should pay half the cost of ITER
construction while the "losing" party would, along with the other four
parties (Russia, China, Korea and the U.S.) each pay 10%. In addition, the
losing party would host a new materials testing facility and the winning
party would place an agreed upon percentage (said to be 10% of total ITER
construction cost) of its construction contracts with industries in the
losing party. The agreement would still have to be ratified by all six ITER
parties, a step that is expected to be all but ceremonial.
The May 5 negotiations did not resolve the issue of whether France or Japan
would become the host party for the ITER device. Rumors and press reports
continue to suggest that a behind the scenes agreement has been reached to
site ITER in France. Both sides (the EU and Japan) deny that any such
agreement has been reached. Such a decision would also have to be ratified
by all six parties, a step that observers say would happen at a high level
ministerial meeting in June.
Follow the ITER saga at
http://fire.pppl.gov