Nuclear power will have a role to play as the EU strives to shift away from its reliance on Russian fossil fuels with fossil-free hydrogen, notably nuclear-based, also playing a part in substituting natural gas.

The European commission said in a communication on its “REPowerEU” plan that Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified” military aggression against Ukraine has massively disrupted the world’s energy system and in March 2022 EU leaders had already agreed to phase out Europe’s dependency on Russian energy imports “as soon as possible”.

The commission said the REPowerEU plan is its response to the hardships and global energy market disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It said there is a double urgency to transform Europe's energy system: ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which are used as an economic and political weapon and cost European taxpayers nearly €100bn per year, and tackling the climate crisis.