Spain’s Ribera hints she won’t obstruct EU nuclear expansion

Teresa Ribera, the EU’s likely next green chief, indicated on Tuesday that she would not oppose nuclear power expansion in Europe, comments likely to reassure those worried she may restrict atomic energy.

“I think that there has been … great respect [given] to every different decision that each member state has taken into consideration when defining their electricity systems and their different options,” she said at a press conference, responding to a question about her nuclear power stance.

Referencing her time as chair of EU energy ministers’ meetings last year, Ribera said she “played a very important role not to minimize anyone and to facilitate solutions that can fit and make sense in the strategic change that the European economy is promoting.”

The remarks are likely to bring some comfort to pro-nuclear countries like France, which have previously raised concerns that Spain’s EU commissioner pick could push back against a nuclear energy expansion just as the technology gains momentum in Europe.

Ribera, a former U.N. climate negotiator who until recently served as Spain’s deputy prime minister, shepherded the closure of her country’s atomic reactors, criticized the cost of nuclear power and called the EU’s decision to label it a sustainable investment a “big mistake.”

Ribera’s latest remarks are generally in line with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s initial instructions for her commissioners. Specifically, von der Leyen directed Denmark’s Dan Jørgensen, who is on track to be the bloc’s energy czar under Ribera, to support the buildout of next-generation small-scale nuclear reactors.