nuclear-news

European Commission is ‘willing to consider’ subsidies for nuclear technology, says von der Leyen.

euro news, By Jorge Liboreiro, 26/09/2023 –

Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed the idea of industrial subsidies in the field of nuclear energy, a highly divisive topic in the European Union.

Speaking in the Czech Republic, a country that receives more than a third of its electricity from its nuclear power plants, the president of the European Commission said each member state was free to pave its own path towards climate neutrality.

“And this is why we’re always willing to consider state aid, of course, provided the conditions are right. But this is important.”

As the chief enforcer of competition rules, the European Commission has the power to approve and reject the public money that governments inject into their national industries, which can take the form of grants, discounted prices and lower taxation, among others…………………………….

Notably, the Act’s original draft excludes nuclear technology from its list of “strategic projects” and features only passing mentions of “advanced technologies (that) produce energy from nuclear processes with minimal waste” and “small modular reactors,” which are still under development.

“We support cutting-edge nuclear technology under our Net-Zero Industry Act to boost innovation and cross-border cooperation,” von der Leyen said in Prague.

The act is undergoing negotiations between member states and the European Parliament, where there is a push for nuclear to be listed as a “strategic project.”

But getting there won’t be easy: nuclear is an extremely divisive, even emotional topic across the EU, with most countries bitterly split into pro- and anti-nuclear factions.

The pro-nuclear group is passionately led by France, a country that obtains about 70% of its electricity from its vast network of reactors and is supported by the likes of the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. They argue nuclear is a low-carbon technology that can run 24 hours a day and decrease external dependencies.

By contrast, Germany, the bloc’s industrial powerhouse, has adopted an uncompromising anti-nuclear stance, with the backing of Spain, Portugal, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg. They believe promoting nuclear energy amounts to green-washing due to the carbon footprint of uranium extraction and the long-lasting radioactive waste.

Both sides have formed alliances and are trying to bring in additional countries to solidify the qualified majority that is required to approve energy and climate legislation……………………….

Over the past decade, the Commission has green-lighted state aid related to nuclear power plants in Hungary, Belgium and the United Kingdom, when the country was still a member. The UK case was contested by Austria before the European Court of Justice, which eventually ruled that subsidies for nuclear energy were compatible with EU law.  https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/09/26/european-commission-is-willing-to-consider-subsidies-for-nuclear-technology-says-von-der-l

September 28, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, politics