The 17th European Forum was held in Prague on nuclear energy, which was attended by experts and political leaders from all over Europe.
The focus of the conference was on the role of nuclear energy for energy security in the EU and the role of the sector for the future re-industrialization of Europe. High-ranking politicians, key representatives of European institutions, the nuclear industry, regulators and experts from academic, scientific and commercial organizations took part. Bulgaria was represented by MEP Tsvetelina Penkova, who is the first female president of the European Energy Forum and first vice-president of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in the European Parliament. The forum was opened with messages from Petar Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia and Martin Dvorak, Minister of European Affairs of the Czech Republic.
„The European Union embarked too blindly on the ambitious path to become a global leader in the climate transition. It relied solely on renewable sources, but they are not enough. Nuclear power must be the main base energy source in the EU, because only it guarantees low and predictable electricity prices for households and industry. Europe still has the best specialists to develop European technologies, Tsvetelina Penkova pointed out during the discussion. In connection with the industrial rise of the EU and the need for new productions, Penkova added that Europe can independently produce all components for the maintenance and construction of nuclear power plants, guaranteeing complete independence. “This opens up new industries, new jobs and stimulates research and development,” concluded the MEP.
At the end of the previous mandate of the European Parliament, Penkova, together with representatives of the Bulgarian industry and energy, organized a large conference in the European Parliament, where the key priorities for the coming years were outlined. One of them was the need to strengthen competitiveness by guaranteeing low electricity prices for industry and investing in European technologies, European experts and European raw materials. The same message was highlighted in Mario Draghi's published report on returning the competitiveness of the European economy.
Regarding the set goals of the EU for 2040, the Bulgarian MEP pointed out that they are “extremely ambitious“ and added: “During the previous mandate, we achieved a lot, so we will build on it in the current one. In 2020, the first big battle we won was to get nuclear power recognized as green and sustainable. In the European Parliament, we have established a Group for the support of the nuclear sector, which will continue to function in the current mandate. With the Reindustrialization Regulation, we laid the foundations for future investment in nuclear technology in Europe, because the sector was recognized as strategic. I hope that in the current mandate of the European institutions we will have a new majority with the political will to start thinking about strategic European funding for the nuclear sector.