On the one hand, the demand for nuclear energy to be included in the green sources for hydrogen production. On the other hand, the end of the internal combustion engine by 2035. The last conflict between the two big names of the EU, France and Germany, is taking place in Brussels on these two issues. The stakes for both are high, not just for the economy, but also for identity: for Paris, the future of the transalpine atom, the axis of the energy structure, is at stake, while Berlin advocates the delicate transition of the automotive sector. trying to save the technology that made it successful on a global scale.
Fight
It is said that the level of conflict is rising in the closed halls of Brussels. Although the protagonists tried to put out the fire in the press: “I am a supporter of permanent Franco-German reconciliation, as well as transparency in our relations. When we have a disagreement, we do not hide it. try to overcome it,” said French transport minister Clément Beaune, a politician.
The dispute arose first of all after Germany, in an unusual move, returned from an agreement between the states, the Commission and the European Parliament banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans until 2035. The long legislative process seemed to come to an end in December. , when EU governments give final approval to the ban. At this point, only the final signature of the Council of Member States, expected in early March, was missing. However, Berlin, relying above all on the support of Italy, changed its mind at the last moment: Germany wants to keep the combustion engine technology afloat, not the use of gasoline and diesel for cars. supply chain from major German automakers to components made from the fabric of local SMEs.
E-fuel technology
The key to saving combustion engines is e-fuel, a synthetic fuel promoted by its advocates as more sustainable than petroleum derivatives, for Berlin. Germany requests the Commission to present a clear strategy for the development of this technology to complete the electrification of transport. Olaf Scholz’s government, also made up of the Green party, does not intend to give the green light to the new law without this “link” to the regulation on gasoline and diesel vehicles.
France publicly condemned Germany’s opposite: “It is economically inconsistent, industrially dangerous, not in our national interest, not in the interest of our national producers, and above all in the interest of the planet,” said Minister Bruno Le Maire. On Paris, the governments of Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands agree. As pressure mounts in the European Parliament for President Roberta Metsola to publicly denounce the return in Berlin, which first signed and then blocked a negotiated agreement after years of negotiations.
“Green” Nuclear
But Germany is going straight. And it responded to Paris by attacking one of its most expensive assets, nuclear power. France has been wanting to include atomic energy among Europe’s transition priorities for some time now. On the occasion of the Net zero industry law, the European Commission’s plan to outline 8 energy sources and technologies where investments will be combined to make the blockchain industry zero emissions, it has not been successful for the time being. And it’s doing this to give nuclear-based hydrogen a greater role in meeting the EU’s renewable energy targets.
Germany sided with this last war in Paris in a letter sent to the European Commission and signed by Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain. “We share the view that the production and use of low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon fuels should not be promoted through a directive on the promotion of renewable energies,” the letter said.
Berlin delivers conflicting messages on nuclear power: After postponing the shutdown of its last reactors in the wake of the war and energy crisis in Ukraine, the Scholz government appeared less strict in opposing the French demands. But now it’s back to building the anti-atom wall. A move that could be aimed at giving the green light to e-fuels from France.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
