What is the role of the Polish regulatory body? PAA at the Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum
23.03.2026
- We are an institution with over 40 years of experience, including in the oversight of nuclear facilities. We have a research reactor in Poland, which is regularly inspected by the National Atomic Energy Agency - said Andrzej Głowacki, President of the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA), during this year's Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum in Gdańsk. As President Głowacki pointed out, overseeing a large-scale nuclear power plant will be a major new task for the Agency, one for which the PAA has been preparing for many years. The nuclear safety of society and the environment is crucial in oversight.
Over 500 participants from 17 countries gathered in Gdańsk this year for the third edition of the Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum (BNEF). The forum brings together representatives of public administration, international institutions, academic institutions, and industry, and its main focus is nuclear energy in the Baltic Sea region and Central Europe.
This year's agenda also included regulatory matters. Andrzej Głowacki, President of the PAA, emphasized on the opening day of the conference that 2026 is expected to be a significant year for the PAA. –As announced by the investor of the first Polish nuclear power plant, this year, in the near future, they will submit an application for a construction license to us for review – the PAA President stated. – This will initiate a complex, multi-stage review process. This involves thousands of pages of documentation that must be analyzed. As a nuclear regulatory body, we are responsible for verifying whether the nuclear power plant's operational design will be safe for people and the environment. Safety issues are crucial to us – the PAA President emphasized.
As the President pointed out, the National Atomic Energy Agency has been preparing for this task for many years. The Agency is increasing its staffing levels and conducting training and internships, including in the United States in cooperation with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is also gradually increasing the number of radiation monitoring stations in the country.
International Cooperation and external support important in the PAA's application assessment
The National Atomic Energy Agency also draws on the experience of foreign nuclear regulators. When assessing the application for a nuclear power plant construction license, the PAA intends to also utilize the support of external institutions, which is an international practice. The President of the PAA mentioned this during the debate entitled "Regulations for Safe Energy: Harmonizing Requirements for Reactors Between Countries." The heads of the Swedish, Slovak, and – remotely – Ukrainian nuclear regulatory authorities also participated in the debate.
During this year's Forum, the National Atomic Energy Agency was also represented by Ewelina Pomianowska, an electrical engineer from the PAA's Nuclear Safety Department, in a session co-organized by Women in Nuclear Poland. A PAA expert participated in a debate on women's participation in the nuclear sector.
At the margins of BNEF, Andrzej Głowacki met with William D. Magwood IV, Director General of the Nuclear Energy Agency. During the meeting, they discussed current issues, including the Polish nuclear regulator's preparations to evaluate the application for a license to construct a nuclear power plant.
