The European Union should consider increasing its reliance on nuclear power as it seeks to limit increases in energy prices brought about by last year’s surge in wholesale energy prices and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Brussels-based nuclear industry group Foratom said.

In a letter to European council president Charles Michel and France’s president Emanuel Macron, Foratom director-general Yves Desbazeille said nuclear can have a positive impact on reducing energy costs because nuclear production costs remain stable thanks to low operating costs and the low impact of potential variations in the price of uranium, which accounts for only around 5% of total operating costs.