On the eve of the ‘Energy’ Council on Tuesday 28 March, Member States were still divided on the definition of ‘renewable hydrogen’ and ‘renewable fuels of non-biological origin’, which underpins the inclusion of low-carbon hydrogen produced from nuclear energy.
Discussed by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Monday 27 March, this item will be on the table of the EU Energy Ministers’ negotiations to try to reach a political agreement in principle (general approach) over the gas package (see EUROPE 13147/9).
After Coreper failed to reach an agreement on the gas package on Friday 24 March, it met once again on Monday to try to resolve, among other things, the issue of low-carbon hydrogen (article 8a) and to adapt the compromise text. In this latest version, low carbon hydrogen is no longer included.
“Member States are not yet in full agreement. Some do not want to support the text until there is a compromise on the Renewable Energy Directive”, said a source close to the dossier. “But it is moving in the right direction. And in any case, it is a good basis for discussion for ministers”, the source said.
This reference to low-carbon hydrogen in the gas package is indeed directly linked to the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (see EUROPE 13149/5).
However, as the directive is not on the EU Council’s agenda, it is likely to be discussed informally on Tuesday with a view to further European Parliament/EU Council negotiations the following day, on Wednesday 29 March. It should be noted that the last Coreper negotiations over the specific Council mandate on this directive on Monday 27 March were not conclusive.
Some Member States, such as Germany, Spain and Austria, are strongly opposed to these texts putting low-carbon hydrogen “on an equal footing” with renewable hydrogen (see EUROPE 13144/27).
Others, such as France, Poland and the Netherlands, do not, on the contrary, want these texts to “discriminate against nuclear energy”, which they consider indispensable for achieving decarbonisation objectives. France’s intention is to have at least one of the two texts “recognise the role of low carbon in the transition”.
As at the informal meeting of Energy Ministers on 28 February, France will organise a second meeting between pro-nuclear countries before the EU Council meeting (see EUROPE 13131/7). This time it could bring together more countries, said the office of the French minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, without revealing the members of this “nuclear cooperation group”.
“It is true that there are majorities that block each other on this issue. The task of the Swedish Presidency is to explore ways to bridge this gap”, said a senior European official. He expects that this debate will indeed take place at the EU Council meeting. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)