Alena Mastantuono calls for bloc to urgently rebuild its own energy sovereignty
The European Union can no longer afford “energy dogmas” and needs to back nuclear with streamlined state aid procedures, faster licensing, access to EU funding, and a financing framework that treats nuclear and renewables equally, said Alena Mastantuono, vice-president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). *
Mastantuono said in an opinion column that as the European Commission works on plan for a nuclear strategy, it has the chance to pivot from “hesitation to enablement” and choose “enablers, not bottlenecks.
The long promised and rarely practiced technological neutrality must finally become a guiding principle, she said.
According to Mastantuono, Europe's geopolitical reality only makes the need clearer. With Russian gas being phased out and LNG supply chains under strain due to shaky transatlantic relations, the EU must urgently rebuild its own sovereignty.
She said that thanks to European energy market and interconnection, consumers across the European continent can benefit from the nuclear electricity coming from more than 100 nuclear reactors in 13 member states.
“Europe has set itself an ambitious 2050 climate neutrality target,” Mastantuono said. “Reaching it while preserving strategic autonomy and economic strength will require every credible low‑carbon option on the table.”
* The European Economic and Social Committee is a consultative body of the European Union established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of representatives from employers' associations, workers' unions and civil society organisations.
