Press Release: European Commission welcomes outcome of ITER Council

The European Commission welcomed the outcome of the ITER Council - the Governing Body of ITER - which took place on 18 June, 2009. The European Commission attended this two-day meeting in Mito (Japan) together with representatives from the other 6 ITER members: China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. In order to substantially reduce overall risk, the Parties endorsed the phased approach to the completion of ITER construction as a working basis for development of the project baseline. The Commission supported the appointment of an assessor to conduct a management assessment of the ITER Organization. The European Commission particularly welcomes the request to finalize a realistic schedule. This is key to ensure a sound management of the project, which in turn will warrant running ITER in the most cost-effective and efficient way.