Nuclear lobby gets EU approval as ‘strategic net-zero’ technology: its next battle is to get EU funding

EU countries reinstate nuclear among ‘strategic’ net-zero technologies

By Paul Messad | EURACTIV.fr | translated by Daniel Eck 8 Dec 23

Following in the footsteps of the European Parliament last month, EU member states in the Council have also included nuclear energy alongside renewables among the technologies promoted by the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA).

…………………….As a result, nuclear power will benefit from streamlined licensing procedures: a one-stop-shop in each EU country and full digitisation of procedures to ensure that authorisations can be obtained within nine to 12 months………………..

France and eight other EU countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – submitted a joint declaration before the meeting reiterating the importance of supporting nuclear power and its financing at the EU level.

On the German side, the pill is harder to swallow…………………

As for other nuclear technologies that are not on the list of “strategic” technologies, these have been retained as “net zero” technologies and, as such, enjoy certain advantages.

Next battle: Financing

The key remaining battle now for pro-nuclear countries is to secure financing at EU level.

“Technological neutrality must also apply to financing,” French Industry Minister Roland Lescure  told the Council, even though the NZIA “is not a financing text but a regulatory text,” as his office pointed out.

Indeed, “there are no financial provisions in the text, except that it does not contain any financial provisions, which Germany was keen to point out,” Lescure’s office added.

Germany, meanwhile, is leading the opposition.

“EU funds cannot be used for technologies that are not supported by all member states,” Giegold said. “It was, therefore, crucial for us to exclude funding issues from the NZIA and to leave existing European rules untouched,” he added.

The NZIA will, therefore, have no impact on whether or not EU funds can finance nuclear power or not.

But according to Lescure’s office, the status quo on this point is not a problem for now. Indeed, the door is still open for nuclear technologies to be financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other upcoming EU funds, possibly the Strategic Technologies for Europe (STEP) platform for example, which is currently under discusssion.

“EU funds that do not finance nuclear power should do so in the future,” said a declaration adopted in July by the French-led Nuclear Alliance of 14 EU countries, which called for “impartiality” between nuclear power and renewables when it comes to EU funding.

In addition, the European Parliament’s position proposes that 25% of the revenues from the EU carbon market should be earmarked for financing the technologies listed in the NZIA.

The Council did not take up this possibility, which will be discussed at the forthcoming trilogue talks scheduled on 13 December.

“We can now begin negotiations and complete them before the European elections,” said Christian Ehler, Parliament’s rapporteur on the NZIA, on X.

[Edited by Frédéric Simon/Alice Taylor]

December 9, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, politics international