Several countries from Central Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia called on the European Commission to take into account all energy sources, with the exception of fossil fuels, when developing future energy and climate policies.
In a joint statement, these countries are urging the EU to focus on the implementation of the 2030 targets, to turn ambition into reality, allowing Member States to choose the most appropriate alternative to achieve carbon neutrality.
A thorough review of funding opportunities for clean projects and technologies is also needed, without any form of discrimination. Thus, the signatories of the letter are calling to include nuclear among the solutions, also for the production of low-carbon hydrogen.
The statement emphasised that the current EU approach to the decarbonisation of the energy sector is based on two pillars: energy efficiency and the deployment of renewable energy sources, but they are not sufficient to cover the diverse range of solutions and industrial opportunities in the EU countries.
“Nuclear energy is undeniably a sustainable and equally valid technology to achieve these goals for the Member States that have chosen to use it,” the countries stressed in their joint statement.