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Green MEP Ska Keller
Photo: PATRICK SEEGER / EPA-EFE / REX
The EU Commission wants to classify nuclear and gas power plants as environmentally friendly.
Now the Greens in the European Parliament have called for the plans to be stopped.
"In the European Parliament we will reject this proposal," said its parliamentary group leader Ska Keller of the "Rheinische Post".
She called on the governments of the EU countries to do the same.
"I hope the member states will not agree either."
The Austrian government had already announced that it would file a lawsuit against the EU Commission's proposals.
"As Greens in the European Parliament, we support that," said Keller of the newspaper.
Resistance is already emerging in other countries such as Spain.
Nuclear energy is unsafe and the storage of nuclear waste is still unclear, so there can be no question of sustainability here.
On New Year's Eve, the EU Commission sent its draft regulation on the so-called taxonomy to the governments of the 27 EU member states.
The taxonomy is a kind of classification of sustainable economic activities and is equivalent to a classification as worthy of funding and a recommendation to investors.
The Commission proposes that permits issued for new nuclear power plants by 2045 can be subject to the taxonomy regulation.
Work on existing reactors to extend their operating life, which has been approved until 2040, is also included.
The Brussels authority also suggests classifying natural gas as climate-friendly.
For new gas infrastructure, projects approved for the green label are to be considered by 2030.
Large majorities are necessary
The proposals were heavily criticized by government representatives in Berlin as well as in Vienna.
The consultation process that has now begun with the member states on the taxonomy recommendation is expected to take around two weeks.
In mid-January, the Commission will then present the final proposal, which the Council of Member States and the EU Parliament can both veto.
In order to hold up the Commission's plans, however, a qualified majority of 20 of the 27 member states, which also represent 65 percent of the EU population, would be needed in the Council.
This is currently not in sight.
Even in the EU Parliament, where a simple majority would be enough for a veto, this has not yet emerged.
mrc / AFP