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The European Commissions upcoming Industrial Strategy aims to help Europes industry tackle a series of challenges and prepare for the future. One important element will be ensuring that industry has access to a secure supply of low-carbon energy at a competitive price.

This is where nuclear energy comes in. Not only is it low-carbon, it is also flexible, dispatchable and cost-effective. The success of the EU industrial strategy and the European Green Deal will depend on the EUs ability to achieve climate neutrality whilst maintaining its competitiveness, including growth, jobs, and technological leadership.

Nuclear energy can contribute to making this a reality.

But for this to happen, EU decision-makers need to develop an ambitious vision for nuclear in Europe and recognise it for the benefits it can provide to accompany Europes energy transition and incentivize more investments in the sector.

This ambitious vision is a notion that the fathers of the European Union had already in mind while developing the Euratom Treaty which provides the legal basis that EU institutions need to follow.

One of the key priorities of the upcoming European industrial strategy should be to ensure that European industry has a non-stop access to a stable supply of low-carbon and affordable energy. This is crucial for maintaining Europes competitiveness. Nuclear energy is vital in this respect as it can help:

The important role of nuclear energy has been recently emphasised by many international organisations such as the IPCC, IEA or MIT and this should be recognised and reflected in EU policy as well.

Nuclear as one of Europes strategic industries

Not only is nuclear an enabler for other industries, the European nuclear industry itself contributes significantly to the EUs economy. It is a strategic sector with high-level of expertise (according to a recent Deloitte report, 47% jobs are high-skilled) and given its EU-based industrial capacity it has a positive impact on European, national and local economic and social development.

The nuclear industry helps maintain an extensive community of experts in various high-level fields: fuel lifecycle (front and back-end), regulators, licensees, supply chain companies (maintenance operators, support services, manufacturing, engineering, etc.), research centres, etc.

But the European nuclear industry provides not only electricity, but also medical isotopes and other applications for industry and agriculture.

The European nuclear industry currently sustains around 1 million jobs in the EU and generates around 450 billion in GDP. As underlined in the European Commissions Clean Planet for All long-term vision, the 2050 nuclear capacity will remain around current levels 120 GW.

Achieving this will require constructing many new nuclear reactors which will in turn benefit the European economy and in particular the countries and regions, where these new reactors are located.

What needs to be done?

In 2019, senior representatives from across the European nuclear industry outlined in a manifesto what needs to be done in order to achieve a decarbonised European power sector by 2050, whilst at the same time maintaining growth and jobs.

These nuclear leaders committed themselves to ensuring security of energy supply by delivering the required volume of nuclear capacity on time and at a competitive cost.

Maintaining a qualified nuclear supply industry is essential in this regard: industry, regulators, and lawmakers will need to cooperate to ensure that we have enough young people coming into the industry with the right skills.

Standardisation and harmonization will play a key role in this process and the European nuclear industry is already working on developing concrete solutions to optimise the supply chain.

Significant support to R&D and innovation as well as increase funding for research into both current and future nuclear technologies such as SMRs, is also key to prepare for the future, develop new applications and breakthrough designs and technologies.

EU decision-makers must also take steps to support the nuclear sectors important role within the EU economy. This includes a stable EU policy framework, a reform of the electricity and carbon markets, and a policy framework which encourages investment in high-CAPEX, low-carbon technologies.

This will provide investor-certainty and access to different funding mechanisms. In addition, the European industrial strategy should develop an ambitious vision for nuclear in Europe, which would support nuclear itself but also trigger far-reaching and ambitious EU research projects (beyond ITER), industrial initiatives (e.g. SMR) and investment in beyond-power nuclear applications.

The European nuclear industry is ready to play its part in maintaining a strong and competitive European industry. The question is to what extent EU decision-makers will recognise nuclear energys role as the backbone of a 2050 carbon-free Europe together with renewables.

Link:
EU needs nuclear energy to achieve its industrial goals - EURACTIV

On 1 March, the European Union-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, now ratified by all the EU member states and the European Parliament, entered into force. This represents an important milestone in more than 25 years of EU-Kazakhstan relations.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, said: Since Kazakhstan became the first country in Central Asia to sign an Enhanced Partnership and Co-operation Agreement with the European Union, the breadth and depth of our relationship has progressed immeasurably. The European Union is the countrys biggest trade and investment partner, while Kazakhstan is by far the EUs largest trade partner in Central Asia. What is more, we have invested heavily in strengthening governance, supporting justice, social and economic reforms. We have also increased the number of Kazakh students coming to study and experience Europe through the Erasmus+ programme. With the Agreement now entering into force, we can fully reap its benefits from joint climate action, to clean energy, sustainable modernization, to increasing connectivity. We are turning the page and beginning an exciting new chapter.

Find more information on the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstanwebsite. Thefull press releaseand afactsheet on the Agreementare available online.

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Entry into force of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Co-operation Agreement - EU Reporter - EU Reporter

News surfaced on Friday that the European Union is investigating a 400 million loan from the Italian government to its national airline, Alitalia. This is due to allegations that the loan breaches rules surrounding state aid. The European Commission will assess whether or not the loan is considered state aid and if it is in compliance with EU rules.

According to Skift, the European Commission (EC) said in a statement that its investigation will seek to find out of the loan granted to Alitalia constitutes state aid and whether it complies with the rules on state aid to companies in difficulty. The Financial Times reports additional statements from the EC:

[The investigation] will provide clarity to Italy and the company as well as interested buyersThe commissions role under the EU Treaty is to help ensure a level playing field in the EUs Single Market to the benefit of European consumers and businesses,

The Financial Times also reports that the EU is already investigating the legality of a 2017 900 million loan from the Italian government. The investigation began in April 2018.

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Italys minister for economic development, Stefano Patuanelli, told the newspaper late last year that the 900 million in loans from the Italian government did not count as state aid. The reasoning was that the loans would only last until the airline was sold. We are not providing [state] aid to the [Alitalia airline], but for the management of a sale process that unfortunately has taken a very long time, Mr Patuanelli said.

According to the BBC, the rule restricting state aid is in place to prevent the distortion market competition. The aid can take various forms including direct cash grants or indirect aid such as preferential borrowing rates or tax credits.

EU rules allow its member-governments to provide state aid only with approval from the European Commission. However, exceptions to the rules exist. For example, governments are allowed to provide aid for broadband infrastructure without prior approval. Furthermore, aid worth less than 200,000 over three years is exempt.

Looking at the rules set out by the EU around state aid, and more importantly the intent of the rule, it would appear that the loans provided to Alitalia do indeed distort market competition. However, the Italian government would be able to defend itself with the continued assertion that the loans are only in place until a buyer can be found. This is something the airline has desperately been trying to attain for months now.

Do you think this loan violates the policies set out by the European Union? Does it distort market competition? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

Simple Flying has contacted Alitalia for an official statement or comment. However, at the time of publishing, no response has been received.

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Alitalia Loan Under Investigation From The European Union - Simple Flying

OpinionLeo Varadkar's gripes about the size of Ireland's payments are a sign of trouble to come

Monday, 24th February 2020, 6:14 pm

The UK has left, but the EU remains. The psychodrama in this country about leaving has been so intense that few people on either side of the domestic debate have been able to give much thought as to what this means for the EU and its continuing members.

The EU itself has inevitably had a lot of its own bandwidth tied up by the question of Brexit both in terms of how the negotiations define its relationship with one of its largest external markets, and in terms of what the departure of a member state says about the nature and direction of the Euro-federalist project.

The untangling of almost 50 years of integration is not yet over. There is a future relationship with the UK to negotiate before the year is out. But our formal departure from the organisation nonetheless allows people and politicians on both sides of the Channel to take stock of what the future might hold for the EU.

i's opinion newsletter: talking points from today

You might expect integrationists to be optimistic. Fine, they never wanted to lose a member state and a major one, at that along the way, and Brexit marks the first time the EU has contracted rather than expanded, but it also signifies the removal of a roadblock to further integration.

The UK was always a reluctant member, requiring carve-outs, exemptions and rebates, and muttering about awkward things like the democratic deficit and the need for referendums.Many times over the years, politicians and officials in Brussels have understandably griped about the way we have acted as a drag on their dreams of a unified EU superstate. Now that were gone, isnt that a problem solved?

Not exactly. For a start, other countries which also had their doubts about various aspects of the EUs operations have long been able to rely on the UK to rock the boat in ways that they like. No longer without difficult Britons to rely on, they now face the uncomfortable choice of fighting those battles harder for themselves or answering to their voters for unpopular measures that may now be passed. Pro-market countries such as the Netherlands, for example, or states such as Denmark which value their opt-out from the euro must now take a firmer stance to champion their positions.

And our departure as a political member also means our departure as a net contributor to the EUs budget. The Commission still wants to spend big, as a sign that there are no doubts and no back-pedalling on the project, but they must take 70bn (59bn) more from the remaining members.

This is a challenge for the remaining EU states. The former Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, of all people, finds himself complaining that the Commissions proposed budget means Ireland will contribute much more to the EU budget but will actually receive less back.

Legislative and budgetary issues are not the only problems the EU faces, either. I wrote a year ago in this column that the UK was a beacon of comparative political stability in an increasingly unstable Europe with Emmanuel Macrons government in crisis and Italys Five Star movement on the rise.

That has become more true over the past 12 months: we have gained a solid majority government, while Varadkars domestic failures have visited a Sinn Fin surge on Ireland, and the Greens are now menacing the established parties in Germany.

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Less stability at home makes for more fractious member states at EU summits. Leaders without good majorities find it hard to agree things, and are more prone to being brought down suddenly (just ask Theresa May).

Meanwhile, the Commission both wants and needs agreement on increasingly ambitious and contentious questions.

The EUs biggest difficulty is that despite the huge alarm which Brexit ought to have sounded, Brussels still refuses to consider whether the project needs democratic reform or strategic redirection. More integration appears to be their only answer, regardless of the question.

Mark Wallace is executive editor of ConservativeHome.com, a politics blog

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Forget Brexit - the European Union's problems are only just beginning - inews

Stephen Stewart

Northern Irish producer Green Inc has launched a new office in the Republic of Ireland.

Based in Dublin, Green Inc Republic of Ireland will allow Green Inc to continue to operate in the European Union (EU) and have access to the single market following Britains split from the EU on 31 January, 2020.

Green Inc Republic of Ireland will act as a subsidiary business to the main Belfast operation, serving as an operational base for domestic Republic of Ireland commissions from broadcasters including RT, Virgin Television Ireland and TG4.

Green Inc is behind shows including Irelands Got Talent, which is coproduced with Kite Entertainment for Virgin Television Ireland, and BBC2 series The Many Faces of. The company also produces live RT series Crimecall, coproduced with Rare TV.

Stephen Stewart, MD of Green Inc, said: Brexit is still a work in progress and no-one knows how it will end. The launch of Green Inc. Republic of Ireland future-proofs us to continue what weve been successfully doing for over 20 years with our friends in the south, and beyond.

Green Incs recent commissions include High Road Low Road (working title) for RT One and Tricked Out Tractors, which will air on BBC Northern Ireland.

Originally posted here:
Northern Ireland's Green Inc opens Dublin office ahead of UK's European Union exit - TBI Vision