Dies ist eine HTML Version eines Anhanges der Informationsfreiheitsanfrage 'Taxonomy Jan-May 2021'.

From:
COMM)
To:
CAB VON DER LEYEN ARCHIVES
Cc:
 (CAB-VON DER LEYEN); 
(COMM); 
 (COMM)
Subject:
FW: Comment on nuclear letter from 7 countries
Date:
mercredi 24 mars 2021 16:04:24
Attachments:
f374daef-1375-49ab-8bfa-06b4616e4fb5-Prime Ministers" letter to the European Commission on the role of
nuclear power in the EU climate and energy policy.pdf
Dear 
, colleagues,
Could you check if you have received and registered this letter ? Cabs have not received it yet. It
might be at your level.
We have been asked by media so it will be good to know in order to confirm receipt
Thank you
From: 
 (Reuters) <
@thomsonreuters.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 2:38 PM
To: 
 (COMM) <T
@ec.europa.eu>; 
(COMM) <
@ec.europa.eu>; 
 (COMM)
<
@ec.europa.eu>; 
 (COMM)
<
@ec.europa.eu>
Subject: Comment on nuclear letter from 7 countries
Dear 
,
I hope you’re all well. We’re writing a story today on the letter, attached, from
seven countries to the European Commission, which calls on the Commission to
ensure that EU climate and energy policies accommodate technology neutrality
and do not put nuclear power at a disadvantage.
Does the Commission have a comment in response to the letter? Anything you
can add this afternoon would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Reuters 
@thomsonreuters.com
www.reuters.com 
Twitter: 

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Ref. Ares(2021)2085773 - 24/03/2021



Ref. Ares(2021)2085773 - 24/03/2021
Joint letter from the Czech Republic, French Republic, Hungary, Republic of 
Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Republic of Slovenia 
on the role of nuclear power in the EU climate and energy policy 
19.03.2021 
Ms Ursula von der Leyen 
President of the European Commission 
Mr Frans Timmermans 
Executive vice-President 
Ms  Mairead McGuinness 
Commissioner  for  Financial  services, 
financial  stability  and  Capital  Markets 
Union  
Ms Kadri Simson 
Commissioner for Energy 
European Commission 
Dear President, Executive vice-President and Commissioners, 
Please  allow  us  to  express  our  appreciation  for  the  consistent  efforts  the  European  Union  is 
undertaking  towards  climate-neutrality  by  2050  with  a  new  EU  target  of  a  net  domestic 
reduction of at least 55% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 – our common goal to which 
we remain fully committed. 
Our concern is, however, that the path that is currently determined to achieve this goal leaves 
little room for internal policy making according to country specific conditions.  
We  are  convinced  that  all  available  zero  and  low-emission  technologies  that  contribute  to 
climate  neutrality  while  supporting  other  energy  policy  objectives  should  not  only  be 
recognized  but  also  actively  supported  by  the  European  Union.  This  is  especially  valid  for 
nuclear power whose development is one of the primary objectives of the Treaty establishing 
the  Euratom  Community,  obliging  EU  institutions  to  promote  it.  Also,  the  European 
Commission  in  its  state  aid  decisions  recognized  the  development  of  nuclear  power  as  an 
objective of common interest, even though it may not be pursued by all Member States, while 
the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  EU,  i.a.  in  a  recent  judgment  on  the  Hinkley  Point  C  project, 
confirmed that nuclear energy may benefit from State aid pursuant to Article 107(3)(c) TFEU, 
and that nuclear energy does not compromise the environmental objectives of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the EU. 
Thus, every Member State is free to develop nuclear power or refrain from it in mutual respect 
and regardless of policy choices of other Member States. However, the development of nuclear 
sector  in  the  EU  is  contested  by  a  number  of  Member  States  despite  its  indispensable 
contribution  to  fighting  climate  change,  as  well  as  the  breadth  of  yet  unexploited  synergies 
between the nuclear and renewable technologies. As low-emission baseload, it guarantees the 
continued renewable deployment to much higher penetration levels. Nuclear power seems to 
be also a very promising source of low-carbon hydrogen at an affordable price and can play an 

important role in energy sector integration. It also generates a considerable number of stable, 
quality jobs, which will be important in the post-COVID recession. 
In  the  light  of  the  above  we  are  highly  concerned  that  the  Member  State’s  right  to  choose 
between different energy sources and the right to determine the general structure of the energy 
supply (Article 194 TFEU) is currently heavily limited by EU policy making, which excludes 
nuclear power from more and more policies. We appreciate support for nuclear R&D, which 
was enshrined in the recent political agreements about ITER and Euratom R&D Programme. 
However, concentrating on technologies to be commercially applicable post 2050 as well as 
decommissioning  activities  and  safety  enhancements  without  an  appropriate  framework  for 
nuclear new build could gradually phase out nuclear power and existing nuclear technologies, 
which will result in a significant loss of high quality jobs in many European countries. This is 
a great concern not only for nuclear new build but also to associated investments like adapting 
existing plants to hydrogen generation.   
Finally, all Member States are making the policy choices in the field of energy fully in line with 
EU law, including the Euratom Treaty. This is yet another argument of our urgent call to ensure 
a true level-playing field for nuclear power in the EU without excluding it from EU climate and 
energy policies and incentives, and bearing in mind that half of EU countries utilize or develop 
nuclear  power  providing  close  to  half  of  EU  low-emission  generation,  in  line  with  the  most 
stringent safety standards as ensured by the Euratom framework. Therefore, we welcome the 
recent  statement  by  Vice-President  Timmermans  for  IEA's  Big  Ideas  underlining  the 
Commission’s technology neutrality. 
We  call  on  the  European  Commission  to  ensure  that  the  EU  energy  and  climate  policy 
accommodates all paths to climate neutrality according to the technology neutrality principle. 
In this context, all available and future zero and low-emission technologies have to be treated 
equally within all policies, including taxonomy of sustainable investments, aiming at achieving 
climate neutrality by 2050. 
Reiterating our strong commitment to the green transition, we remain open to further exchange 
of views with you on this highly important topic.  
Yours sincerely, 
Mr Andrej Babiš 
Mr Florin Cîțu 
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic 
Prime Minister of Romania 
Mr Emmanuel Macron 
Mr Igor Matovič 
President of the French Republic 
Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic 
Mr Viktor Orban 
Mr Janez Janša 
Prime Minister of Hungary 
Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia 
Mr Mateusz Morawiecki 
Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland