thanks to Europe’s “dependence” on Russian nuclear power, Rosatom still escapes sanctions from Brussels

In the aftermath of Volodymyr Zelensky’s European tour, the European Commission intends to further sanction Russian interests. She will propose a tenth sanction train by February 24, a year after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, for his part, urges the Europeans to extend these sanctions to new sectors: computer equipment, banks, and energy. Nuclear power has so far completely escaped European retaliatory measures. No wonder, since the Russian giant in the sector, Rosatom, runs the power plants of many Eastern European countries.

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Nearly one out of two reactors currently under construction in the world is of Russian design and 46% of the enriched uranium used in civilian nuclear power is supplied by Rosatom. Figures that alone sum up the spectacular domination of a hyper-competitive Russian atom. Not even France, yet a juggernaut in the sector, is no exception. The only plant in the world capable of reprocessing the uranium used in its nuclear fleet is in Siberia.

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Russia’s leadership is designed as a geopolitical lever, explains Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, an energy policy researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute: “Vladimir Putin has always had this strategy of exporting this technology internationally, it is done in particular in Africa where the Russian president agrees to take charge of part of the financing of these factories which are extremely expensive. The trade serves a purpose much broader, a geopolitical aim by ensuring that there is a form of dependence.

Bulgaria, Hungary and even Finland are dependent on Russian nuclear power. In these countries, Russian-designed reactors provide up to half of the electricity. Viktor Orban has just signed with Rosatom the construction of two new reactors. Difficult, under these conditions, to obtain the unanimity of the 27, required to adopt sanctions. Unless you enter into an endless negotiation of exemptions. On nuclear, as on gas, the war in Ukraine acts as a powerful indicator of European dependencies.