Sunday

10th Dec 2023

Austria draws first red line on EU growth fund

  • Nuclear power plant in Germany, which is in the process of phasing out the energy source (Photo: Bjoern Schwarz)

A key part of the new growth plan for Europe is that the investment projects are chosen on their merits rather than for ideological or political reasons, yet member states are already drawing their potential red lines.

Austria, firmly anti-nuclear, is kicking up about the fact that the planned €315 billion investment scheme could be used to fund the construction of nuclear power plants in Europe.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“It surely cannot be seriously the case that we invest in a Stone Age technology”, Austrian environment minister Andra Rupprechter said Tuesday (16 December) according to press agency APA.

Rupprechter called on the Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann to “make [Austria's] massive reservations very clear” during a summit of EU leaders at the end of the week.

He said there should be “an appropriate formula” to ensure Austrian money isn't funding the construction of new nuclear power plants, although he deemed projects that increase the safety of existing plants "useful".

Rupprechter’s comments come as some member states have already called for money to be put towards nuclear projects.

The UK has requested a €57.8 billion loan for “three potential projects with a total of 12.2GW capacity”, including the controversial Hinkley Point C.

Poland hopes to launch nuclear power as a “new sector of the Polish economy” and aims to attract funding for the construction of a nuclear plant with a capacity of about 3 gigawatts.

Germany, for its part, is in the process of phasing out nuclear energy as part of its "energy change" following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.

Several other EU countries are also in the process of phasing out their dependence on nuclear power.

The EU's member states have presented around 2,000 projects that could be funded by the commission's proposed €315 billion investment plan.

The European Commission has said the projects should be chosen according to their quality.

Jyrki Katainen, the commissioner in charge of drumming up investors’ interest in the fund, Monday said that the private sector had told him that using political criteria to decide on projects would mean "no opportunity to attract investment any more".

Projects are instead to assessed by technical experts.

“There will be no sector-specific or country-specific quotas. It will be a non-political, technical assessment”, spokesperson Annika Breidthardt said Tuesday.

However she did not give a clear answer when asked if Austria could veto a project it did not agree with.

“Deciding the energy mix is solely the responsibility of the member states”, spokesperson Annika Breidthardt said.

EU lets UK subsidise nuclear power plant

EU officials have said the UK can use state money to help build a nuclear power plant, despite objections from Austria and Green politicians.

Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief

With less than a month to go before the start of a new leadership of the European Investment Bank, the world's largest multilateral lender, the path seems finally clear for one of the candidates, Spanish finance minister Nadia Calviño.

Analysis

Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

While some strengths may have been overlooked recently, leading to a more pessimistic outlook on the EU and the euro area than the truly deserve, are there reasons for optimism?

Latest News

  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us