Europe is still dependant Russia in nuclear sector: NYT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Mar 19:26

According to New York Times, Russia continues to to play a significant role in meeting Europe's energy demands specifically through Rosatom.

Personnel work to begin loading nuclear fuel at Belarus' first nuclear plant which was built by Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, near Astravets, Belarus, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020 (Aksana Manchuk, BelTa, Pool Photo via AP)

According to a New York Times article, Rosatom, the Russian nuclear firm, remains to be a key source of energy for Europe.

It was noted in the article that finding an alternative for Russian oil and gas was a more feasible challenge for the EU than ending their dependence on Rosatom.

The article added that Russia continues to play a significant role in meeting Europe's energy demands (specifically through Rosatom which is a state-owned nuclear facility), and very few European actors call for sanctioning Rosatom.

Furthermore, European countries with Russian-engineered nuclear plants are especially dependent on Russia for the technology to operate their facilities.

NYT also reported that cutting ties with the Russian nuclear corporation would be detrimental to the development of the nuclear sector around the world; the nuclear supply chain is so intricate and interdependent that creating a new sector while factoring out Russia's capacities would be very expensive and time-exhaustive, the NYT article added.

According to the newspaper, Russia holds an especially significant standing in the world nuclear fuel market since it owns 38% of the world's uranium conversion and 46% of the world's capacity for uranium enrichment.

Back in February, The EU initiated a tenth sanctions package which included four additional banks as well as 130 individuals and entities. However, neither this sanctions package nor any sanctions package hitherto has included direct restrictions on Rosatom.

In mid-February, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto revealed that following a meeting with French Minister for Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher that both Hungary and France oppose sanctions on nuclear cooperation with Russia.

In January, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban stressed that the European Union's sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war are a mistake and should be ended.