The European Union is set to give governments more flexibility under its strict fiscal framework by allowing nuclear power to be treated as an eligible category of energy spending. The proposal, documented for discussion by EU ministers, expands the list of energy-related measures that can receive “leeway” without being counted against key deficit constraints.
Under the approach, eligible projects include nuclear power plants, alongside other initiatives such as battery storage, hydrogen technologies, subsidies for corporate electric vehicles, and public investments in rail infrastructure or metros. The document says qualifying measures must be financed nationally and must have a direct budgetary impact.
The nuclear inclusion follows a recent EU decision to grant additional budgetary room for energy-related measures amid the energy crisis. Countries can spend up to 0.3% of GDP on energy-related actions without that spending counting toward the EU’s 3% deficit rule. The policy is described as an extension of earlier leeway granted for defense spending, which EU countries such as Italy and Spain have long sought.
The document also specifies categories of spending that would not be excluded from deficit calculations, including fuel-tax cuts, price caps, fossil-fuel subsidies, and income-support schemes for households.
The decision is expected to create more room for countries—such as France—to accelerate reactor construction and life-extension projects without those costs undermining their fiscal targets. EU governments seeking the exemption have until mid-August to submit requests, with the European Commission planning to issue recommendations in September ahead of a finance ministers’ meeting in October.
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