The European duel on the issue of nuclear power and renewable energies

Countries such as Austria, Luxembourg or Germany want to limit to renewable energies in the strict sense the right to be classified as green energies such as wind, solar, hydro but not nuclear. AP - Jean-Francois Badias

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1 min

The European Union must finalise its Green Energy Directive in a negotiation between the Commission, Parliament and Council. This negotiation is to be held this Wednesday, March 29, but it is for the moment badly engaged, under the sword of Damocles of the issue related to nuclear. EU member states are divided on whether this energy can be counted as green energy.

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With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet

Even before it has begun, the negotiations between the three European institutions are already in jeopardy. Firstly, by the remark of the President of the Commission at the European summit: Ursula von der Leyen had indeed judged that nuclear power was not strategic for the future. In a second step by the crystallization of the front line during the meeting of energy ministers on Tuesday.

Two groups of countries held concurrent meetings in the morning. On the one hand, countries such as Austria, Luxembourg or Germany that want to limit the right to be classified as green energy to renewable energies in the strict sense; So wind, solar, hydro but not nuclear. On the other side, led by France, Finland and Poland, the countries that want all so-called "decarbonized" or "low-carbon" energies to be accounted for, which would include nuclear power, which does not produce CO2.

However, the directive under negotiation must lead to the replacement of natural gas by hydrogen and this second group of countries believes that hydrogen produced with nuclear electricity should be eligible for all the financing that the directive will put on the table.

►To listen also: The return to grace of nuclear power in Europe

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Read on on the same topics:

• European Union
• Environment
• Energies
• Nuclear
• Ursula von der Leyen