An early draft of new guidelines by the European Commission specifically addressed the possibility of allowing public support for nuclear power. However, that has been withdrawn after protest from other European countries, notably Germany.
This means the UK government will need to unilaterally justify its plans to support new nuclear power stations. EDF Energy’s proposed Hinkley Point C plant will become a test case for future support.
A spokesman for EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told Reuters the decision did not make it illegal to use public money to help finance nuclear power.
“This simply means that state aid notifications by member states will continue to be assessed directly under (EU) treaty rules and the standard in this field will be determined by the Commission’s case practice,” he said.
Reuters said internal documents showed divisions within the Commission, with the climate service questioning why nuclear needs State Aid, given it is a mature technology.