European energy plan silently supports nuclear
29 February 2008
The Council of the European Union has approved the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan, which proposes research into nuclear energy, without mentioning nuclear energy in their approval document.
The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SETP) aims to speed up development of clean, efficient and low-carbon technologies, with strong participation from private sector industries. The plan proposes six European Industrial Initiatives, including a sustainable nuclear fission initiative focusing on the development of Generation IV reactor technologies.
The Council, which is made up of energy ministers from the individual member states, agreed to approve the plan, but only after finding compromise language to gain approval from the Austrian minister. No mention of the nuclear initiative was made and the word "nuclear" did not appear in the Council's conclusions. Instead the document referred to 'low carbon technologies' and 'advanced energy technologies', in addition to frequent references to renewable technologies.
Slovenian Minister of the Economy, Andrej Vizjak, President of the EU Council, said that Martin Bartenstein, Austrian Federal Minister of Economics and Labour, would submit a special declaration that would detail the Austrian position. Vizjak claimed the Council approval of the plan was a "major success of the Slovenian presidency".
European Commissioner for Energy Andreas Piebalgs stressed that the Council had approved the plan and the plan, including all six industrial initiatives, was unchanged.
The Council will discuss financing for low carbon options in the SETP later in the year, when Austrian opposition to nuclear energy is likely to feature again.
The SETP can be found on the European Commission's website.