Ministers from Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland (the Visegrad 4) met in Paks and agreed: ""Without nuclear power it will not be possible to achieve the goals of climate neutrality." They called on the European Commission to approve its inclusion in the taxonomy of sustainable investments.

Governments of the V4 group say they are committed to nuclear energy (Image: Paks II)

Hosting the meeting near the Paks nuclear power plant, which provides 48% of Hungary's electricity, the country's minister responsible for expanding Paks, János Süli, led a conversation on energy sovereignty and security.

The Visegrad 4 "are committed to the use of nuclear energy, as nuclear power plants help to achieve the European Union's goal of climate neutrality while strengthening security of supply and providing clean electricity at affordable prices," said the Paks II project company.

"With my colleagues, we agreed that without nuclear power it will not be possible to achieve the goals of climate neutrality," stressed the Slovakian Minister of Economy, Karol Galek.

Süli and Galek were joined by Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński, the Polish Undersecretary of State for Energy and a representative from the Czech Republic's Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The four signed a statement on the importance of nuclear energy in terms of climate neutrality, but also in terms of the EU Taxonomy and the sustainable investment as well as security of supply.

The V4 statement is the latest declaration for, or against, nuclear energy in the European Union as the European Commission heads towards a decision on whether it can be included in its taxonomy of sustainable technologies. It is a political decision, the scientific aspect having been positively settled by a report from the Joint Research Centre in March.

Germany, Austria, Denmark, Portugal and Luxembourg stand against nuclear energy's inclusion. In favour of nuclear are the self-described 'Nuclear Alliance' that includes Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Romania and Slovenia, as well as the V4 group of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News