Spain and Denmark oppose the classification of nuclear power as sustainable and criticize the EU plans as “wrong message”.
Spain and Denmark have openly expressed their opposition to EU plans to classify gas and nuclear power as semi-sustainable energy sources. They agree that this step would send the “wrong message to investors and society as a whole,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday after talks with his Danish colleague Mette Frederiksen in Madrid.
At the beginning of February, the European Commission officially presented its proposal for the inclusion of nuclear energy and gas in the so-called taxonomy regulation. The regulation is intended to create a European seal of quality for sustainable financial products. The step would be equivalent to an official recommendation for investments in nuclear and gas projects.
Austria and Luxembourg want to sue
Sánchez and Frederiksen believe that taxonomy decisions should have “a rigorous scientific basis,” the Spanish government said. This position “is shared by Austria and Luxembourg”. Austria had threatened to sue the EU Commission’s plans, and Luxembourg followed suit.
The German federal government has also taken a stance against including nuclear power in the taxonomy. However, Berlin agrees to the classification of gas.
The EU Commission is still studying the official statements of the 27 member states on their plans before the regulation is officially adopted. The text will then be considered final four months later, unless it is rejected by a simple majority in the European Parliament or a qualified majority of 20 EU countries. Both are considered unlikely.
(WHAT)