The European Commission announced on Tuesday 10 January that it is giving the go-ahead to France’s plan to grant state aid to nuclear company Areva in the form of a capital injection of €4.5 billion. The Commission says Areva's restructuring plan will allow the company to become viable without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.
Payment of the state aid is subject to conditions, in particular a positive conclusion of the ongoing tests by the French Nuclear Safety Agency concerning the nuclear reactor vessel of Flamanville III, and approval of the divestment of Areva's reactor business under EU merger rules.
The restructuring aid must not be paid out until the above conditions are met and therefore the Commission also approved, on Tuesday, a loan of €3.3 billion for Areva by the French state. The loan is to cover the company’s cash flow requirements until the capital injection arrives.
The plan provides for various divestments, in particular the group's nuclear reactor business. Areva will instead focus its activities on the nuclear fuel cycle, i.e. the upstream and downstream activities and services involved in the production of electricity from uranium in nuclear power reactors.
The complete divestiture of Areva's reactor business will significantly reduce the group's activities in the nuclear sector and thereby limit the distortions of competition brought about by the state support. A competitive Areva will also contribute to ensuring the security of Europe's uranium supply.
The Commission also found that Areva will finance a significant part of the restructuring costs with proceeds from planned asset sales, including the divestiture of Areva's reactor business (New Areva NP) to the French energy incumbent EDF. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)