© Associated Press
– Romania is among the countries pushing for nuclear energy to be included among the clean ones. Its Cherna Voda NPP provides 10% of the country’s electricity
France, Bulgaria and eight other EU countries have launched a joint initiative in support of nuclear energy, AFP reported.
It has a role to play in the fight against global warming, the 10 countries said in a joint article published Sunday in the French daily Figaro and several other European newspapers with ministerial signatures.
There are no Bulgarian media among them and it is not known whose signature is on behalf of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Energy told Dnevnik that “Minister Andrei Zhivkov supports the position initiated by France”, but could not specify whether he signed the article together with his fellow ministers.
The authors of the article entitled “We Europeans need nuclear energy“They note that nuclear energy is making a decisive contribution to the independence of our energy and electricity sources.” According to them, it “protects European consumers from price fluctuations”, while gas prices have been rising sharply for several months.
Apart from France and Bulgaria, the article was signed by representatives of Romania, the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland and Hungary, BTA reports.
According to the ten countries, it is “absolutely necessary” to include it in the European taxonomy before the end of the year. “The European Commission said in April that it would consider whether nuclear energy and natural gas should be included in the list of climate and environmental benefits. an energy source environment that would give them access to green finance and provide a competitive advantage to environmentally recognized sectors.
The authors highlight the economic benefits of nuclear energy, which they say has the potential to create nearly 1 million highly skilled jobs in Europe.
However, the issue divides EU countries. France, Poland and the Czech Republic are defending nuclear energy, but countries such as Germany, Belgium and Austria are opposed to it, along with many NGOs that see the technology as risky, AFP reported.
In April, the European Commission published rules for financing green investments, but left for the end of the year the decision whether nuclear energy and natural gas can be classified as clean or transitional and thus be able to receive funds under the European Green Pact. Nuclear energy has fallen outside the scope of projects that can be financed through European green bonds – another committee initiative presented in September.
For France, the article, signed by Economy Minister Bruno Le Mer and delegated Industry Minister Agnes Panier-Runache, is an opportunity to highlight his choice to rely on nuclear power plants. On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron will present an investment plan worth several tens of billions of euros by 2030, in which this sector is expected to occupy a prominent place, AFP notes.
The agency said it was particularly interested in what Macron would say about the development of small nuclear reactors in France.
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