On Tuesday, energy ministers from 11 European Union countries, led by Austria, allied to counter attempts by France and others to count nuclear energy toward the bloc's renewable energy goals.
Calling themselves the "Friends of Renewable Energy," the governments aim to fend off attempts by a rival alliance – led by France and including the Czech Republic, Poland and others – who want more recognition of nuclear energy in numerous EU policies.
Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain attended the meeting to strategize ahead of upcoming negotiations.
A rival meeting of pro-nuclear countries' ministers, convened by French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher, also occurred on Tuesday morning.
The stand-off comes a day before EU countries and lawmakers agree on tougher EU targets to expand renewable energy by 2030 – a vital part of the EU's plans to slash carbon emissions and wean itself off Russian gas.
France is leading a campaign to recognize the contribution of "low-carbon hydrogen" – hydrogen produced from nuclear energy – under renewable goals. Pro-nuclear countries have made similar requests regarding the law on gas market rules, which ministers will discuss on Tuesday.
Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler said the 11 countries rejected the attempt to link these two files.
"The group calls for ambitious targets in the [renewable energy law] to have a clear mandate for investors and customers," she said.
"This should achieve the strategic European goals of becoming less dependent on energy imports and massively expanding local and renewable energy," Gewessler said.
France, Romania, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic say EU policies should do more to recognize carbon-free nuclear energy's contribution to climate goals.
