16 Member States call on the EU to support low-carbon fossil-free energy sources, including nuclear
European Union Member States met in Paris with Commissioner Kadri Simson to discuss cooperation on nuclear energy, further to the recently established Nuclear Alliance spearheaded by France. In their view, nuclear and renewables together will help Europe achieve its climate goals and ensure security of energy supply.
In the words of attendee Yves Desbazeille, Nucleareurope’s Director General, “The EU now needs to move forward with pragmatic and technology-neutral policies which focus on achieving our goals: decarbonisation, security of supply and affordability."
According to a statement released after the meeting, the signatories recognise that “nuclear energy provides pilotable capacity and hence significantly secures Europe’s fossil-free electricity supply”. Therefore, they call on the EU to “take into account the contribution of all affordable, reliable, fossil-free and safe energy sources to achieve climate neutrality by 2050”.
Tne Nuclear Alliance members believe that nuclear and renewables together will help Europe achieve its climate goals and ensure security of energy supply
The statement notes that nuclear could provide up to 150 GW of electricity capacity by 2050 in the EU. This would bring numerous benefits, including the creation of 300,000 additional, new direct, indirect and induced jobs and an additional 92b€ in GDP.
Nuclear could provide up to 150 GW of electricity capacity by 2050 in the EU, bringing numerous benefits including the creation of 300,000 jobs
In terms of next steps, the Member States present have agreed to work on a roadmap, which would include:
- Positioning of nuclear power in the European energy strategy.
- Safety and waste management.
- Industrialization and sovereignty.
- Skills.
- Innovation.
What is the Nuclear Alliance?
The Nuclear Alliance was created as an initiative of France during a first meeting in Stockholm on February 28 2023. It is composed by Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom as invitee and Italy as observer. Its goals, according to the members, is to promote the interests in the European Union negotiations of countries that wish to continue to operate nuclear reactors in the long term or build new reactors.
