CNS - Convention on Nuclear Safety

Austria is a party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS, BGBl. III number 39/1998).

The Nuclear Coordination Unit within the Federal Ministry serves as the National Contact Point vis-à-vis the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

The Convention was adopted in response to the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, with the objective of supporting a high level of nuclear safety and the implementation of safety upgrades through international cooperation. Pursuant to Article 20 of the Convention, Review Meetings have been held every three years since 1999, during which national reports on the measures taken by the Contracting Parties to fulfil each individual obligation under the Convention are subject to mutual review (peer review).

The Fukushima disaster also led to the adoption of an IAEA Action Plan. Among other things, this Action Plan called upon the Contracting Parties to the Convention to explore ways to improve the effectiveness of the implementation and application of the Convention.

This led to an Extraordinary Meeting of the CNS in 2012. In the framework of this Extraordinary Meeting, the Swiss Confederation submitted an ambitious, but controversial proposal to amend the Convention. The proposal, which was opposed by some Contracting Parties, sought to introduce an obligation for the continuous improvement of nuclear safety and a worldwide requirement to upgrade all existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) in CNS Contracting States.

In 2015, a Diplomatic Conference considered the amendment proposal. However, despite the efforts of the Euratom Member States, a formal revision of the Convention on Nuclear Safety could not be achieved due to resistance from almost all other nuclear power operating states, as well as from the European Commission. Following months of difficult negotiations, the Diplomatic Conference adopted the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety on 9 February 2015 – almost four years after the Fukushima accident. While the Declaration essentially reflected the substance of the Swiss proposal, it was adopted only as a non-binding recommendation.

The 10th Review Meeting took place in April 2026. Issues such as the challenges to nuclear safety for countries intending to embark on nuclear power programmes, the assessment of SMR technologies, the shortage of qualified personnel, and the risks posed to civilian nuclear power plants during military conflicts dominated the discussions. Despite a challenging starting point, the 10th Review Meeting was successfully concluded with the adoption, by consensus of all Contracting Parties, of a final report. Austria's 10th National Report was prepared and published. Austria participated very actively in the peer review process, involving external experts and engaging extensively in the exchange of questions and answers with other Contracting Parties.

CNS - Convention on Nuclear Safety

Austria's National Reports (in English)