FT: EU pushes for full ban on Russian fossil fuels faces delays on nuclear phaseout

The European Union is set to unveil legal measures this week to halt all imports of Russian fossil fuels, but plans to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russian nuclear technology are proving more difficult and face delays.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, EU member states have paid over €200 billion to Moscow for fuel, with coal and oil already sanctioned and gas set to be phased out by 2027. In comparison, nuclear fuel accounted for a relatively modest €700 million of the €22 billion paid to Russia in 2024, according to the Bruegel think-tank. However, officials warn that any abrupt disruption of nuclear fuel supplies by Moscow could pose a serious threat to EU energy security, Caliber.Az reports via Financial Times.

“Technically speaking the uranium supply chain is very complex”, said Ben McWilliams, affiliate fellow in climate and energy at Bruegel. Therefore a gradual phaseout would be needed, he said.

The EU operates 101 nuclear reactors, 19 of which are Soviet-era VVER designs. Around 20–25 per cent of the bloc’s uranium—natural, converted, and enriched—comes from Russia. In addition to fuel, many reactors also rely on Russian spare parts and technical expertise.

The European Commission has stated its aim to eliminate Russian nuclear imports by the 2030s. But a document released on June 13 highlighted that €241 billion in investment would be required to develop a fully independent European nuclear supply chain. EU energy ministers are expected to discuss these investment needs at a meeting on June 16.

Other Western nations have already begun to move away from Russian nuclear resources. Canada has imposed a full ban on Russian uranium imports, the UK has introduced 35 per cent tariffs on Russian enriched uranium, and the United States passed a law in May to end such imports by 2028. In April 2023, G7 countries agreed to jointly develop nuclear capacity to reduce reliance on Russian fuel.

Still, Russia remains a dominant player. 

“[Russian state nuclear company] Rosatom is one of the biggest companies in all sectors of nuclear markets,” said Dmitry Gorchakov, nuclear adviser at the NGO Bellona.

The EU’s efforts come at a time when nuclear energy is experiencing renewed interest across Europe as part of climate action strategies, further increasing pressure on already strained supply chains.

Resistance to the nuclear phaseout is especially strong from Hungary and Slovakia, two of five EU countries operating VVER reactors alongside the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Finland. In a joint statement, Hungary and Slovakia’s ministers for EU affairs said that the 2030s phaseout target would lead to “higher and more volatile prices” and undermine energy security.

EU officials maintain that a slow and steady transition would help avoid market shocks. The bloc has been working since 2022 to diversify its uranium sources, including deals with Kazakhstan, Canada and Niger. But political instability in Niger, the world’s seventh-largest uranium producer, has raised fresh concerns.

Sama Bilbao y León, director-general of the World Nuclear Association, has suggested that revenues generated from tariffs on Russian imports should be reinvested in the EU’s nuclear sector to boost domestic capabilities.

By Sabina Mammadlli