Emmanuel Macron stays the course of the atom. While the deputies examine, this Wednesday, March 1, a draft law on nuclear power, the French government initiated, the day before, an alliance with ten other countries of the European Union. The objective is clear: to strengthen their cooperation on this energy.
Nuclear “is one of many tools to achieve our climate goals, produce baseload electricity and ensure security of supply,” they said in a joint statement signed on the sidelines of the meeting. a meeting of European energy ministers in Sweden.
Eleven signatories including the Netherlands and Poland, Germany says “no”
Concretely, this alliance aims to “support new nuclear projects”, based on “innovative technologies” and on “the operation of existing power plants”. The text also provides for joint training projects, “opportunities for increased scientific cooperation” and “coordinated deployment of best practices in security”. Working groups will be created by the next Energy Council scheduled for the end of March.
In addition to France, the signatory countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland, which is counting on nuclear power to get out of the coal.
France also hopes for the support of Sweden, whose current government is pro-nuclear. For the moment, it is forced into neutrality because it occupies the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. Other non-signatory countries, such as Italy and the Baltic States, have also “expressed their interest in joining the circle”, indicated Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Minister for Energy Transition.
On the other hand, Germany strongly opposed it, followed by Austria and Luxembourg. “We have decarbonization targets that each state can achieve as it sees fit,” said Sven Giegold, German Secretary of State. “But the European Union has also set renewable energy targets to be achieved together”, and on which funding should, according to him, focus.
A national strategy
This alliance is a new success for France, which has been strengthening its support for nuclear power since last year. And this for many reasons. The government first highlights the climate emergency, and the need to no longer depend on fossil fuels. “Nuclear represents 25% of our European electricity production, emits less carbon than wind and photovoltaic”, insisted Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Nuclear power would, according to her, be a “complementary” tool to renewables to achieve the carbon neutrality targeted by the European Union in 2050. Paris also mentioned the context of the war in Ukraine, which is undermining the German energy model based on cheap gas imports.
According to these arguments, France has already won a victory in mid-February with the European Commission’s proposal to consider as “green” hydrogen produced from an electricity mix including nuclear, under certain conditions. This measure should help it achieve its “green” hydrogen targets in transport and industry, despite fierce opposition from Germany.
At the same time, Emmanuel Macron is developing his national strategy. A nuclear bill is being examined on March 1 by the Economic Affairs Committee. He plans to build more reactors, and faster. The Senate has already gone in its direction by removing the objective of reducing the share of nuclear power in electricity production to 50% by 2035.
A nuclear policy council, convened by the Elysée in early February, made it possible to launch studies on extending the life of power plants to sixty years and beyond. The government also wants to merge the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), which issues power plant operating licenses, and the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), which carries out research on the risks associated with radioactivity. . This project arouses the fury of the IRSN. The employees demonstrated on February 28, accusing the executive of endangering their independence.