Fidesz MEPs welcome EP decision to uphold limited qualification of gas, nuclear energy as sustainable

MEPs of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to uphold the European Commission’s amendment to its taxonomy regulation, ensuring that certain uses of natural gas and nuclear energy could be qualified as sustainable, secure and clean energy resources.

A proposal against the EC’s amendment proposal was rejected with 328 MEPs voting against, 278 in favour and with 33 abstentions. Unless the EP or the European Council objects the ruling, the taxonomy regulation will become binding from January 1, 2023.

The regulation states that private investments of the gas and nuclear energy sectors have a role in green transition, and so in curbing climate change. Certain activities of the sector will therefore qualify as sustainable temporarily, if the sector fulfils requirements of transparency, it said.

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Commenting on the vote, the Fidesz MEPs said in a statement “we protected the security and affordability of energy supplies, and the [Hungarian] utility price cuts”. Edina Tóth, Enikő Győri and András Gyürk said investments based on gas or nuclear energy were key to green transition, so that safe and affordable energy supplies could be preserved in the long term.