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The nuclear dispute driving a wedge between France and Germany

The two nations have opposing ideas about atomic energy, threatening the EU’s transition
away from fossil fuels. France and Germany’s split over nuclear power is a
tale of diverging mindsets fashioned over decades, including since the
Chernobyl disaster in USSR-era Ukraine.

But it has now become a major
faultline in a touchy relationship between Europe’s two biggest economies.
Their stand-off over how to treat nuclear in a series of EU reforms has
consequences for how Europe plans to advance towards cleaner energy. It
will also affect how the bloc secures power supplies as the region weans
itself off Russian gas, and how it provides its industry with affordable
energy to compete with the US and China.

France, which produces two-thirds
of its power from nuclear plants and has plans for more reactors, is
fighting for nuclear technology to be factored into its targets for
reducing emissions and for leeway to use state subsidies to fund the
sector.

For Germany, which closed its last nuclear plants this year and has
been particularly shaken by its former reliance on Russian gas, there’s
concern that a nuclear drive will detract from renewable energy advances.
Berlin is wary that Paris would benefit more than its neighbours if it ends
up being able to guarantee low power prices from its large nuclear output
as a result of new EU rules on electricity markets, people close to talks
between the two countries say.

FT 15th Oct 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/b1dbd7b4-d8b9-45eb-bd18-4976f7c9af5e #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, politics international