The final EU taxonomy proposal is expected next week.
(Photo: Reuters)
Brussels It is one of the EU’s most sensitive political projects: nuclear power and gas are to be classified as sustainable within the framework of the EU taxonomy. The EU taxonomy is a classification system for green financial products – a list of all economic sectors drawn up in Brussels that contribute to the goal of climate neutrality.
The Austrian EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn has now announced that he intends to vote against the final version of the EU taxonomy at the crucial Commission meeting if the current position of the Brussels authorities on nuclear power and gas does not change. “I will vote against it,” he said in a conversation with journalists on Tuesday.
Especially since, in his opinion, nuclear power is not a transitional technology. “An energy source that we have to invest in for 30 or 40 years is not suitable for the transition,” he said.
On December 31, 2021, two hours before midnight, the EU Commission sent its communication on the EU taxonomy to the member states. They then had until last Friday to comment. Germany refuses to declare nuclear power as sustainable. Austria, Hahn’s home country, and Luxembourg are even considering taking legal action against the planned EU regulation. The final proposal is now expected next week, having originally been announced for this Wednesday.
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The final proposal will hardly deviate from the current one
According to sources in Brussels, there will be no major changes to the communication that has already been submitted. Only the position on gas is likely to be weakened somewhat.
The decision as to whether gas and nuclear power should be considered sustainable economic activities is a so-called delegated act in the EU legislative process. As a result, the hurdles for the Council and Parliament to stop the project are particularly high.
In the Council, 20 member states, which together make up at least 65 percent of the EU population, would have to vote against the delegated act. An absolute majority is required in the European Parliament. But in both institutions, the proponents of nuclear power are in the majority so far, so the new rules are expected to come into force at the beginning of 2023.
However, resistance is gradually beginning to stir in Parliament. “Perhaps it is best to stamp out this delegated act,” said Peter Liese, the environmental policy spokesman for the Christian Democrats and thus party colleague of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In his estimation, the rejection of the Commission’s proposal is growing across all factions – for different reasons.
“Not only the construction of new nuclear power plants, but also the retrofitting of old nuclear power plants, including those of Russian construction, should be classified as a sustainable transition technology. Like many other colleagues, I think that’s unacceptable,” he said. “Also, I don’t think it’s fair to call something that’s so far in the future a transitional technology.”
“Von der Leyen’s proposal is on the brink”
His opinion thus coincides with that of EU Commissioner Hahn. The Commission’s proposal stipulates that nuclear power plants may still be built according to conventional construction methods until 2045 and that the problem of final storage does not have to be solved until 2050.
The fact that the EU Commission is now even getting headwind from the largest group in the European Parliament gives hope to those who are determined opponents of nuclear power. “This shows that von der Leyen’s proposal is on the brink,” said Green energy politician Michael Bloss.
If Parliament actually rejected the delegated act, the EU Commission would still have the option of presenting a new proposal.
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