KIEV, Ukraine, April 19 (UPI) -- The European Union agreed to allocate $68.5 million to advance nuclear safety and efficiency in Ukraine, the government in Kiev said.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych welcomed European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to Kiev for the signing of nuclear safety documents.
The measures help create a legal and financial mechanism for joint nuclear work, radioactive waste management and safety and efficiency measures, the National News Agency of Ukraine reports.
The European Union under an agreement signed by Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Andriy Kliuyev agreed to allocate $68.5 million in financial assistance for Ukrainian nuclear projects.
Boris Paton, president of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, said on the sidelines of an international conference on nuclear energy that Kiev should encourage nuclear power in its national energy mix.
"For Ukraine, the rejection of the use of nuclear power plants that generate half of total electricity amid an aging capacity of thermal energy can lead to a significant drop in industrial production and quality of life," he was quoted as saying.
There are four nuclear power plants in Ukraine.
