A high level meeting on the stress tests at NPPs is scheduled for June 23, said EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger.

The representatives from Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Armenia, Belarus and Turkey will participate.

The tests will focus on assessing how nuclear power plants can withstand the consequences of various natural disasters as well as man-made failures and actions, reads the statement posted on EU website.

Earlier Oettinger explained that the tests will be conducted in a three-step process: by the nuclear operators, by independent national regulators and through peer reviews. This is in line with the fundamental nuclear safety principles enshrined in the EU and international legislative framework.

“We aim at attaining sufficient progress by December 2011, so that the European Council will be able to make an initial evaluation based on a Commission progress report, which will draw conclusions from the national reports and available results from the peer reviews,” he said in a statement.

The only regional nuclear power plant is located near the Armenian town of Metsamor (30 km to south from Armenia’s capital,Yerevan).