Meeting in the margins of the Energy Council on Tuesday 15 October, the member countries of the ‘Nuclear Alliance’ reiterated the decisive role they believe nuclear energy will play in ensuring the EU’s competitiveness (see other news).
In a joint declaration signed by France, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, the Alliance issued a reminder of the four pillars of action on which it agreed last March (see EUROPE 13363/3).
The aim is to open up public funding and EU funding instruments to support large reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs) and the associated European value chain, but also to develop skills in the nuclear sector and increase collaboration “across a European value chain through concrete projects”.
The signatories encourage the new Commission to “deliver a paradigm shift in our energy policy by fully recognising the role of nuclear energy, alongside renewables, for the future of our integrated energy system”.
According to the office of the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, this involves reviewing European legislation to ensure that nuclear energy is recognised in the same way as renewable energies, particularly in terms of taxonomy and access to the European Hydrogen Bank (see other news item).
More broadly, the Alliance countries are asking the Commission to put in place an action plan that should include an update of the Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC), and to reflect on a “new nuclear strategy for the European Union”.
To see the statement, go to https://aeur.eu/f/dwj (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)