A meeting of 16 European countries as part of a “nuclear alliance” shows that an ever-growing number of EU member states recognise that the bloc needs to support new reactors and renewables if it wants to decarbonise its economy, the director-general of Brussels-based lobby group nucleareurope said.
Yves Desbazeille, who attended the meeting in Paris on Tuesday (16 May) with French energy transition minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher and representatives of 15 other states, said too much time has been wasted on pitching one technology against another.
“Demand for low-carbon electricity is expected to massively increase over the coming years,” Desbazeille said. “So, the EU now needs to move forward with pragmatic and technology neutral policies which focus on achieving our goals: decarbonisation, security of supply and affordability.”