EU renewable energy law clears first vote after French nuclear assurances

A European Parliament committee on Wednesday backed new EU renewable energy targets, but criticised last-minute changes offering France and other countries possible carve-outs for ammonia plants and greater recognition of nuclear energy.

The law significantly raises the European Union's renewable energy targets, requiring 42.5% of EU energy to be renewable by 2030, replacing a current 32% target for that date.

EU countries and lawmakers agreed a deal on the renewable energy law in March, but this was held up for weeks by France and other countries seeking greater recognition of nuclear power - which is low-carbon, but not renewable.

The stalemate ended this month when the European Commission offered France written assurances that it would consider exempting certain ammonia plants from renewable fuel targets - allowing them to run on nuclear-based fuels instead.

France also won a short preamble to the law, which acknowledges the potential challenges of refitting ammonia plants to run on renewable fuels.

The EU committee backed the tweaked law with a large majority, but criticised the late changes.

"This should not set a precedent. Otherwise the entire ordinary legislative process and the trilogues will lose their meaning," committee chair Cristian-Silviu Busoi said, referring to the EU process for passing new laws.

Parliament's lead negotiator, Markus Pieper, said he and other lawmakers had pushed to water down the preamble to a point where it "doesn't really have much substance".

The bill still needs formal approval from the full EU Parliament and EU countries before it takes effect.

That process usually waves through pre-agreed laws without changes - but it was upended this year in another last-minute row, when Germany lodged late opposition to a policy phasing out fossil fuel-powered cars, making some EU diplomats wary of further demands to change pre-agreed deals.

Europe got 22% of its energy from renewable sources in 2021, the latest year for which official EU data are available.