Pathways to a Euratom Reform
Short legal evaluation and strategy approach
On 3 July, the EU Commission is going to present its ideas for the future of energy and climate policies, which should include a chapter on the future of the Euratom treaty.
For the Greens/EFA group, the Euratom treaty cannot continue to be used as an excuse to allow financial support for nuclear reactor projects such as Hinkley Point C in the UK or Paks 2 in Hungary, which are currently being contested in front of the European Court of Justice. This approach gives nuclear an unfair advantage on the European electricity market. This situation must come to an end and the Euratom treaty must meet the European needs and policy goals in the energy sector.
At a press breakfast this Wednesday 20 June, the Greens/EFA group will present a new legal analysis on the need to reform the Euratom treaty, made by Dr Dörte Fouquet, lawyer and partner at Becker Büttner Held.
The Euratom treaty – which sets the expansion of the civil use of nuclear energy as a common goal of the European Union - has not changed since it was signed by the six founding countries more than 60 years ago.
However, the EU has changed substantially over the last decades. Many European member states have either never used nuclear power or have decided to phase it out. At the same time, the EU has also set itself targets to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix. The time has come to update the Euratom treaty.
