The European Union has started talking about a possible ban on the import of nuclear fuel from Russia for nuclear power plants in the bloc countries and projects in which a subsidiary of Rosatom takes part.
This was reported by Politico, which cited information from five European diplomats.
The diplomats said the sanctions against Russian nuclear power were the subject of discussion during a meeting of EU and European Commission ambassadors earlier this week. The main initiators of such steps are Poland and the Baltic states.
According to one of the interlocutors, Germany joined them on Wednesday. The FRG will express support not only for the oil embargo, but also for a ban on imports of nuclear fuel from Russia. Such support would make the push more likely.
A rejection of Russian nuclear fuel, boozily, would carry problems. The EU imports virtually all the volume it needs from third countries. After Niger, the Russian Federation is the second largest supplier, from which it sources 20% of all imported nuclear fuel.
The two powerful members of the bloc, Germany and France, have polarly different positions on nuclear power, which makes the discussions more complicated.
Germany opposes nuclear power, completely shutting down existing nuclear power plants.
In France, 70 percent of its energy comes from nuclear power plants. The country plans to reduce the use of fossil fuels and to compensate for the abandonment of Russian energy resources by nuclear power. France plans to build another 14 new reactors by 2050.
Kazakhstan and Niger, not Russia, are France's main fuel suppliers. But Paris is home to a subsidiary of Rosatom, with which the country collaborates on a number of projects.